..1 


» 


-., 

's/S  ''*%'/.'.'" 


"*""*? 


X 


LIFE 


MATTHEW  HALE  CARPENTER 


VIEW    OF    THE    HONORS    AND    ACHIEVEMENTS    THAT,    IN 

THE   AMERICAN    REPUBLIC,    ARE   THE    FRUITS 

OF   WELL-DIRECTED   AMBITION   AND 

PERSISTENT    INDUSTRY. 


BY  FRANK  A.  FLOWER. 


MADISON,  WIS.: 
DAVID    ATWOOD    AND    COMPANY. 

I883. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-three, 

BY  FRANK  A.  FLOWER, 
in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


DAVID  ATWOOD, 

PRINTER  AND  STEREOTYPER, 
MADISON,  WW. 


A  PREFATORY  NOTE. 


It  is  to  be  hoped  no  one  will  be  deceived  by  the  volume  in 
hand.  Its  homely  garb  has  no  ambush  of  promise  or  pre 
tense.  It  is  not  a  scarlet  banner  sent  out  to  infuriate  the 
Tauri,  nor  a  literary  performance  to  challenge  the  vivisectors 
in  the  arena  of  criticism.  Nor  has  the  author  uncovered 
his  head  for  the  meeds  and  bays  of  those  who,  kindlier  if  not 
wiser,  pass  through  the  fragrant  garden  of  literature  point 
ing  out  only  what  is  good  or  beautiful.  It  is  only  a  humble 
tribute,  designed  to  serve  until  something  better  and  more 
fitting  shall  take  its  place.  Nothing  could  be  less;  the 
author  begs  the  belief  that  it  is  nothing  more.  But  there 
shall  be  no  apology.  He  will  not  assume  such  a  dishonor  as 
that,  having  been  able,  he  yet  neglected  to  do  better.  He 
has,  so  far  as  he  knows,  under  the  circumstances,  done  the 
best  he  could. 

Numerous  difficulties  in  the  way  of  compiling  this  volume 
have  intervened.  Some  of  them  were  not  successfully  sur 
mounted,  but  all  have  been  cheerfully  met.  Carpenter  kept 
no  journal,  and  those  private  documents  and  papers  so 
necessary  to  secure  a  correct  view  of  his  career,  were  scat 
tered  and  destroyed  during  the  latter  portion  of  his  life,  or 
after  his  death,  by  a  train  of  untoward  circumstances.  The 
unreliability  of  human  memory  and  the  warped  accounts  of 
partisan  newspapers,  the  only  other  sources  from  which  the 
author  could  draw  for  much  of  his  information,  will  account 


M554343 


4  A   PREFATORY    NOTE. 

largely  for  the  lack  of  fullness  and  exactitude  of  detail  that 
may  be  apparent.  But  all  other  faults  spring  directly  from 
the  author's  own  inexperience,  poverty  of  words  and  dearth 
of  idiomatic  expression.  These  defects  hampered  his  labors 
even  more  grievously,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  than  they  plague  the 
pages  which  follow.  Add  to  them  the  multifarious  duties  to 
which,  in  the  struggle  for  daily  bread,  he  was  compelled  to 
devote  attention,  together  with  the  fact  that  the  volume  is 
the  result  of  lamp-light  toil  and  hours  snatched  from  the 
periods  of  needed  rest,  and  the  short-comings  of  the  offering 
will  appear,  if  not  less  conspicuous,  certainly  not  more  offen 
sive.  An  endeavor  has  been  made  to  have  all  statements 
clear  and  understandable.  In  this  perhaps  such  success  has 
been  attained  as  will  suffice  for  those  who  follow  these  pages 
for  what  may  be  discovered  in  them  concerning  Carpenter. 
If  so,  there  is  little  left  to  be  desired. 

The  career  of  our  subject  in  Congress  has  been  somewhat 
closely  followed.  It  was  no  less  impossible  than  unnecessary 
to  embellish  the  chapters  thereon  with  excursive  digressions 
and  free  descriptions ;  yet  they  will'  nevertheless  be  found  the 
most  interesting,  as  they  certainly  are  the  most  valuable  sec 
tions  of  the  publication.  Sometimes  the  traveler  will  hesitate 
about  penetrating  a  great  forest  whose  paths  are  strange  to 
him;  but  once  entered,  he  will  find  in  its  deepest  recesses  and 
remotest  aisles,  those  rare  flowers,  rich  perfumes  and  unriv 
aled  songsters  that  never  grace  common  groves  and  plains. 

Perhaps  the  quotations  from  the  writings  and  speeches  of 
the  subject  are  more  liberal  than  is  usual  in  a  single  volume 
of  this  character;  but  time  will  undoubtedly  prove  the  value 
of  such  a  plan.  It  shows  with  greater  clearness  and  authen 
ticity  what  he  thought,  and  how  he  expressed  those  thoughts, 


A   PREFATORY    NOTE.  5 

upon  vital  subjects  to  which  he  gave  attention,  than  could 
be  done  by  the  most  expert  re-composition.  The  estimates 
placed  upon  him  by  the  foremost  men  of  modern  times,  have 
also  been  interwoven  with  the  narrative.  This  is  in  some 
sense  a  new  departure,  but  it  is  a  bulwark  behind  which  the 
author  can  successfully  defend  himself  from  any  charge  that, 
having  become  intoxicated  with  his  subject,  he  elevated  Car 
penter  one  jot  above  his  rightful  place  as  a  lawyer,  as  a 
statesman  or  as  a  genius. 

Herein  the  paths  may  be  crooked  and  the  hedges  gro 
tesquely  planned  or  inartistically  trimmed;  yet  no  one  ever 
discarded  the  rose  because  it  budded  among  thorns,  or  re 
fused  to  harvest  corn  because  it  grew  in  crooked  rows. 
Take  this  volume  as  a  conscientious  compilation  of  some  of 
the  sayings  and  doings  of  a  splendid  genius  and  a  great  heart, 
and  for  nothing  more.  Those  doings  and  sayings  will  be  no 
less  fresh  and  authentic  because  not  surrounded  by  the 
pyrotechnics  of  literature  and  the  pretensions  of  ambition. 

FRANK  A.  FLOWER. 
MADISON,  December,  1883. 


MILWAUKEE,  Wis.,  December  i,  1883. 
DAVID  AT  WOOD  &  Co.,  PUBLISHERS: 

Dear  Sirs — I  have  thoroughly  examined  the  Biography  of  my  hus 
band,  the  late  Matthew  Hale  Carpenter,  by  Frank  A.  Flower,  and  so  far 
as  I  have  personal  knowledge  of  the  facts  therein  related,  they  are 
correct.  The  remainder  comes  from  sources  that  are  considered  trust 
worthy.  Indeed,  I  am  aware  of  nothing  in  the  volume  that  is  not 
essentially  reliable.  Truly  yours, 

CAROLINE  CARPENTER. 


CONTENTS. 


LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  HALE  CARPENTER. 


CHAPTER    I. 

A  Rugged  Birthplace 

An  Ancient  Family 

The  Carpenters  in  America. . . . 

Childhood 

Chopping  Wood 

Schoolmaster  Miller 

Holding  Funerals 

A  Flood  in  Moretown 

Webster's  Reply  to  Hayne 

CHAPTER    II. 

At  Paul  Dillingham's 

A  Leiter  from  Dillingham   .... 

Two  Years  at  West  Point 

Class  Standing 

Letters  from  Classmates 

A  Report  on  Discipline 

Again  at  Dillingham's 

Testing  Oratorical  Powers 

CHAPTER    III. 

A  Journey   to   Boston  —  Rufus 

Choate. ...   

Tantalizing  Clerks 

Favor  in  Choate's  Eyes 

Writes  an  Opinion  Worth  $100. 

Enters  Choate's  Family 

Credit  at  Little,  Brown  &  Co.'s. 
Preparing  to  Leave  Boston. . . . 
Tender  Gratitude 

CHAPTER   IV. 

Settling  in  Wisconsin 

Disappointed  in  Beloit 

Rents  an  Office 

Social   Advancement 

Trains  a  Military  Company. . . . 

CHAPTER    V. 

A  Long  Period  of  Darkness. . . 

In  New  York 

The  Angel  Mother 

A  Friendly  Polyphemus 

The  True  "Philosopher 


49 
49 
50 
5' 
53 
54 
55 


A  Visit  to  Vermont 72 

Returns  to  Beloit 72 

A  Beautiful  Incident 74 

A  Partnership 75 

Bundy's  Recollections 75 

CHAPTER   VI. 

Fair,  White  Milwaukee 78 

Newcomb  Cleveland's  Engage 
ment 79 

Lake  Michigan's  Eternal  Mur 
murs 81 

CHAPTER    VII. 

Beginning  the  Law 82 

Chaffing  Elaine  and  Sumner. ..  83 

Whips  His  Grandfather 84 

Carpenter  against  Edmunds  ...  85 

First  Cause  in  Wisconsin 87 

Letter  from  E.  N.  Baldwin 88 

An  August  Body 89 

Letter  to  His  Wife 90 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

Excitement  at  Beloit 91 

An  Increasing  Practice 94 

The  Mormons 95 

CHAPTER    IX. 

The  Bashford- Bars  tow  Broil...     97 

A  Racy  Opening 98 

Withdraws  from  the  Case 100 

No  Fee 101 

CHAPTER    X. 

Conspiracy  against   Booth 102 

Murder  of  Father  Richmond..   104 

Judge  Gilbert's  Letter 105 

Test-oath  Cases 106 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  McCardle  Case 108 

Miller's  Radiant  Face 109 

A  Powerful  Argument 112 

Letter  from  Edwin  M.  Stan  ton  113 
"  A  Fearful  Whirl" 115 


8 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    XII. 


Trial  of  W.  W.  Belknap 117 

God  Grants  a  New  Trial 1 19 

A  Tragic  Scene 123 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

The  Electoral  Commission 125 

Zach.  Chandler's  Neglect 126 

A  Fraud  as  Good  as  a  Majority  130 

"  Wet  in  the  Passage  " 131 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

Miscellaneous  Causes    132 

Military  and  Martial  Laws. ..."  132 

Myra  Bradwell 133 

The  Slaughter-house  Cases....  134 

The  Whisky  Cases 136 

The  Louisiana  Lottery 137 

Mrs  Stephen  A  Douglas 138 

The  North- Western  University .  139 

Great  Cases 140 

CHAPTER   XV. 

A  Battle  with  Corporations  ....  142 

State  Fair  Oration  of  1869 144 

Enemies  Appear 149 

A  Test  Case 151 

Inter-state  Commerce 153 

The  Potter  Law 154 

Governor  Taylor's  Proclamation  155 

Midnight  Research 156 

An  Ebullition  of  Slime 157 

Charnel-house  of    Corporations  158 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

Admission  to  the  Bar 162 

Law  Partners 163 

Partnership  Infelicity 165 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

United  States  Supreme  Court. .  167 

An  "  Eye  on  Old  Chase  " 169 

No  Limit  to  Praise 170 

Justice  Joseph  P.  Bradley's  Trib 
ute  171 

An  Estimate  by  Justice  Samuel 

F.  Miller 172 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

Attributes  and  Tributes 174 

Professional  Industry 175 

Methods  of  Labor 176 

An  Office  in  a  Baggage  Car  ...  178 

Work  Without  Pay    178 

Professional  Estimates 180 

"  An  Immense  Man  " 181 

David  Davis  and  J.  S.  Black. . .  182 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

A  Sprinkling  of  Politics 183 

Machine  Politicians 183 


His  First  Office 184 

The  Missouri  Compromise 186 

Again  in  Office 187 

Mene,  Mene,  Tekel,  Upharsin. .  188 

Letter  to  Samuel  Crawford  ....  189 

Dodging  the  Flood 190 

Stephen  A.  Douglas 191 

CHAPTER    XX. 

Country,  not  Party  —  Rebellion  193 

The  First  Gun 194 

"  My  Soul's  in  Arms  " 196 

Welcoming  the  Minute-men...   197 
Party  vs.  Patriotism  —  Letter  to 

Isaac  Woodle 199 

"  Sweep  Slavery  Away  " 202 

Going  to  Enlist 205 

Declining    Congressional    Hon 
ors 206 

A  Change  of  Front 208 

The  Immortal  Decree 208 

Only  Two  Parties 211 

The  Ryan  Address 212 

Jackson    and    Washington     in 
War 213 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

Revolt  against  the  Draft 217 

Stanton's  Stay-at-home  Order  .  218 

More  Gospel  of  Patriotism 219 

A  Famous  Letter 221 

The  Returning  Throb  of  Early 

Love 228 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

The  Janesville  Convention 230 

Divorce  a  Vinculo  Matrimonii. .   232 

Another  Call 232 

McClellan  and  Pendleton 234 

Circumcision  Without  Regener 
ation  235 

The  Ancient  Springs 237 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


Suf- 


Reconstruction  —  Negro 

frage 239 

Speech  at  the  Sherman  Banquet 

in  Janesville 240 

The  Votaries  of  "  My  Policy  " . .  243 

Respects  to  James  R.  Doohttle.  245 

Immortal  Logic 245 

"  Good  for  the  Negro  " 249 

The  Democracy  Agitated 250 

CHAPTER   XXIV. 

First  Senatorial  Campaign 252 

Starting  the  Ball 253 

A.    M.    Thomson's    Encyclical 

Letter 254 

Boyish  Embarrassment 255 

Supporting  Grant 257 


CONTENTS. 


Robust  Recruits 259 

The  Good  Parsons 261 

Prize  Declamations 262 

Befuddled  Competitors 2^3 

Behind  the  Scenes 264 

The   Fifth   Ballot   Brings   Suc 
cess  265 

An  Ovation 267 

Confirmed  268 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Yet  No  Rest 270 

Greeley  and  Secession 271 

Charles  Sumner's  "Madness".   273 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Shocking  Political  Adultery  . . .  276 

Letter  to  H.  C.  Payne 276 

The  Flood-gates  Opened 278 

A  Noble  Defender 281 

The  Poland  "  Gag-law  " 282 

Washburn  and  Howe 283 

The  Combat  Deepens 284 

Washburn's  Letter  to  General 

Rusk 285 

The  Bolters 285 

Nominated  on  the  First  Formal 

Ballot 287 

Pressure  from  Home 288 

Threats  Materialized 290 

Miscegenation 291 

Angus  Cameron's  Letter 291 

"Eating  Crow" 293 

The  Sweets  of  Adversity 295 

Welcome  Home 296 

A  Confidential  Talk 298 

The  Fruit  ot  Disaster 300 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Still  on  the  Hustings 302 

Firing  at  the  Flock 303 

More  Juicy  Letters 307 

Worthy  of  Junius  —  A  Letter  to 
Washburn 309 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Victory  and  Retribution 

Mystification 

A  Naive  Reply 

The  Chicago  Tribune  Chal 
lenged  

The  Matter  Settled  —  A  Peti 
tion  

Lost  in  the  Bear-garden 

Latter  to  H.  M.  Kutchin 

Reply  to  Geo.  W.  Allen 

On  the  Stump 

The  Eve  of  Battle 

Ninety-five  Ballots 

Victory 

The  People  Rejoice 


315 
3i6 

317 


320 

322 
323 
324 

328 

328 
33° 
33° 


A    Demonstration    in   Milwau 
kee 332 

Welcomed  Back  to  Washington  333 
Genuine  Civil  Service  Reform .   334 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

In  the  United  States  Senate 336 

Maiden  Efforts 3^6 

His  First  Speech 337 

A  Special  Session 338 

So-called  Loyal  Claimants 339 

Reconstructing  Georgia 340 

A  Clash  with  Sumner 342 

Georgia  and  Mississippi 345 

When   the   Elephant  Turns  on 

its  Friends 346 

Return  of  the  Old  Dominion. .   347 
Twenty-five   Years  of  Cooling 

Down 348 

The  Spanish  Gun-boats  —  Cuba  349 

Splendid  Indorsements 352 

"  Webster  of  the  West" 354 

An    "Inhabitant"  or  a   "Resi 
dent" 355 

Enforcing  the  Amendments 356 

Large  Offices,  Small  Pay 357 

Protecting  Citizens  Abroad. . . .   358 

The  Franking  Privilege 359 

A  Snug  Little  Job 361 

Tariff  and  Taxes 362 

Citizenship  of  the  Chinese 362 

Pensions  —  Corporations 363 

Wisconsin  Measures 364 

CHAPTER    XXX. 

Forty-first  Congress 366 

A  "  Peculiar  "  Claim 366 

Co-education     of    Whites    and 

Blacks 368 

Salaries  of  Judges 369 

Claims    370 

Four  Georgia  Senators 371 

The  Iron-clad  Oath 372 

Smothered  Measures 373 

CHAPTER    XXXI. 

Forty-second  Congress 374 

Special     Session  —  A      Stormy 

Period 375 

Newspaper  Correspondents  Dine  377 

Senator  Nye's  Indignation 379 

CHAPTER    XXXII. 

Forty-second      Congress  —  Sec 
ond  Session 380 

Gilt-edge  Vagaries 380 

The  Chicago  Fire 382 

Sumner's  Civil  Rights  Bill 383 

Carpenter's  Amendment 384 

Lesser  Matters 385 

Nourishing  His  Enemies 385 


10 


CONTENTS. 


Void  Votes  Defined 386 

Confused  on  the  Tariff 388 

Clearing  Out  Cobwebs 388 

The  Ku  Klux  Act 389 

A  Towering  Humbug 390 

CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

Sales  of  Arms  to  French  Agents  392 

Sumner's  Attack  on  Grant 394 

A  Gallant  Defense  of  Grant. . .  395 
How  Stanton  was  Appointed . . .   399 

Stanton  and  Grant 400 

A  View  of  the  Controversy. . . .  401 
"  Peace  to  His  Ashes  " 404 

CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

Forty-second  Congress  —  Third 

Session 405 

The  Boston  Fire 405 

Franking  Privilege  Abolished. .  406 
Fillmore's  Sanction  of  Polygamy  407 

"  Back  Pay  " 407 

Splendid  Tribute  to  Wisconsin.  408 

CHAPTER    XXXV. 

Money  in  Politics 410 

Forty-third    Congress  —  "  Back 

Pay  " 410 

Enemy's  Property  Defined  ....  411 

A  Senator's  Luxuries 412 

Foreign  Provinces  in  America.   413 

An  Historical  Chapter 414 

Cuban  Freedom 416 

Another  Civil  Rights  Bill 416 

Imposts,   Commerce    and    Suf 
frage  416 

First  Term  Ended 417 

Another  Prophecy  Fulfilled. . . .  418 
"  Attorney  at  Law  " 419 

CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

Re-appearance  in  the  Senate. . .  420 

Fighting  the  Mexicanizers 421 

Res  Adjudicata 422 

Shields  and  Webster 423 

A  National  Disgrace 424 

Sea-sickness  in  Washington. . . .  425 
Free  Riots  on  Election  Day. . . .  425 

CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

A  Tedious  Session 428 

The  Broken,  Tattered  Constitu 
tion   428 

The  Supply  of  Indian  Wars...  429 

Fitz  John  Porter < . . . .  430 

Carpenter's  Argument 432 

Baxter's  Gloomy  Warning 434 

A  Tilt  with  Elaine 434 

The  Third-term  Question 436 

The  Geneva  Award 437 

Red  Tape 438 

Pure  Elections 438 


CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 

Closing  Labors 440 

Astonishing  Statutes 442 

The  Disgrace  Still  a  Disgrace  .  443 

Last  Voice  and  Vote 444 

CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

President  Pro  Tempore 445 

Committees     and    Committee 

Service 445 

Indians  and  Citizenship 44 

Official  Luxuries 4 

CHAPTER    XL. 

Louisiana  —  Tumult  and  Blood 
shed  451 

Absolute  Chaos 453 

The  Wiser  Remedy 455 

A  Visit  to  Louisiana 456 

The  Mosaic  Law  — "Kill  Him  "  458 
Addressing  the  Discordant  Ele 
ments  459 

New  Orleans  of  the  Future. . . .  462 

Back  in  the  Senate 462 

The     Hayes-Tilden     Dead-lock 

Predicted 464 

CHAPTER   XLI. 

Facing    the    Storm  —  "  Back 

Pay  " 466 

Proper  Compensation 469 

The  Retroactive  Section 472 

CHAPTER    XLII. 

Baffled  Conspirators 474 

"  Whisky -ring  "  Discovered.  . . .  475 

Carpenter,  Keyes  and  Payne. . .  476 

Welcome  Home 477 

Letter  to  Mrs.  Carpenter 478 

Vindication 479 

CHAPTER    XLIII. 

Miscellaneous  Addresses 481 

Seven  Hundred  and  Fifty  Heroes  482 

Another  Splendid  Oration 485 

Advice  to  Young  Lawyers. . . .  488 

Professional   Rewards 490 

A  Charity  Homily 491 

Fifty  Thousand  Hearers 494 

A  Funeral  Oration 495 

"  Is  that  God,  Mamma?  " 496 

Republics  Not  Ungrateful 497 

Tribute  to  the  Press 497 

Divine  Word-painting 497 

Death  of  Reverdy  Johnson 499 

Hidden  Blessings 500 

CHAPTER   XLIV. 

Impartial  Suffrage 502 

Equal  Suffrage  Predicted 502 

Myra  Brad  well's  Case 503 


CONTENTS. 


II 


The  Fifteenth  Amendment 504 

Susan  B.  Anthonv  Arrested. ..  505 

A  Plea  in  the  Senate 506 

God's  Great  Congregation 507 

A  Man  of  the  People 510 

CHAPTER    XLV. 

Use  and  Love  of  Books 513 

Love  of  Children 515 

Letter  to  W.  S.  Carter 516 

Moral   Courage 521 

Official  Integrity 522 

A  Powerful  Memory 523 

W.  P.  Kellogg'S  Illustration 524. 

A  Wonderful  Voice 526 

Peculiarities  of  Oratory 528 

Carpenter  Describes  Oratory. ..  529 

CHAPTER   XLVI. 

Physical  Appearance 532 

Portraits 535 

Charity 536 

Good  Hearts 539 

The  Washington  Apple-woman  542 

CHAPTER    XLVII. 

Religious  Views 543 

Montreal  Cathedral 544 

Favorite  Divines 545 

Letter  to  David  Swing 546 

11 1  Believe  This  " 54 

Without  Malice 5 


Who  is  Without  Sin? 549 

Worldly  Possessions 550 

The  Carpenter  Homestead 551 

Domestic  Life 551 

CHAPTER   XLVIII. 

Notes  and  Anecdotes 553 

Writes  Sermons  for  Rev.  Eddy.  554 

Cheap  Contempt 554 

Ryan  and  the  Peddler 556 

Mosher's  Obituary 558 

Joseph  L.  Atherton's  Letter...  559 

u  Dear  Carp." 562 

Carpenter  and  Black  in  Disha 
bille  563 

Prophecies 564 

Secret  Honors 565 

Letter  from  Grant 566 

CHAPTER    XLIX. 

Sickness  and  Death 568 

"  It  is  Incurable  " 569 

"  God  Protect  My  Babies  " 571 

Letter  to  Mrs.  Carpenter 571 

Charles  G.  Williams'  Address.  572 
Arthur  MacArthur  at  the  Death 
bed  573 

Official  Formalities 575 

The  Funeral 578 

Roscoe  Conkling's  Gem  1579 

Tributes 580 

An  Epitaph  by  J.  S.  Black 584 


LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  HALE  CARPENTER. 


CHAPTER  I. 

A   RUGGED  BIRTHPLACE. 

At  the  very  heart  of  Vermont,  in  the  center  of  Washing 
ton  county,  torn  by  a  torrent  called  Mad  river  and  pierced 
by  the  eastern  spine  of  the  Green  mountain  range,  in  ro 
mantic  quietness  nestles  Moretown,  the  birthplace  of  Matthew 
Hale  Carpenter. 

It  was  a  rugged  and  beautiful  belief  of  the  ancient  Greeks 
that  their  ancestors  sprung  directly  from  the  sacred  soil  of 
Greece.  Their  love  of  country  was  deep  and  intense,  because, 
when  they  worshiped  their  native  land,  it  was  honoring 
their  beloved  mother.  Therefore,  when  the  Greek  orators 
came  forth  to  eulogize  statesmen  and  warriors,  or  pronounce 
funeral  orations,  they  began  by  an  apostrophe  to  the  land  of 
their  birth.  This  custom  exercised  great  influence  in  making 
Greece  one  of  the  marked  nations  of  the  earth  in  patriotism 
and  subsequently  in  enlightenment.  Thus,  every  country 
sends  forth  her  sons  stamped  with  the  characteristics  of 
the  locality  in  which  they  were  born.  The  children  of  the 
prairie  are  broad,  untrammeled  and  progressive,  while  the 
dwellers  of  the  mountains  are  sturdy,  thrifty,  valorous  and 
lovers  of  freedom. 

"  It  has  often  occurred  to  me  since  Carpenter's  untimely 
death,"  observed  a  colleague  in  the  senate  chamber,  "that 
the  scenes  and  natural  surroundings  of  his  childhood  —  scenes 
with  which  I  am  personally  somewhat  familiar  —  may  have 
exercised  no  little  influence  upon  his  later  career.  He  was 
born  on  the  side  of  a  mountain,  down  which  and  past  his 
dwelling  rushed  the  Mad  river,  impatient  of  all  obstacles,  at 


14  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

times  swollen  with  rains  or  melted  snows,  a  torrent  resist- 
kssly  impetuous  in  its  force,  and  at  other  times  sparkling  in 
the  generous  sunlight  and  filling  the  pleasant  valleys  below 
with  liquid  music.  The  varied  moods  of  nature  in  his  moun 
tain  home  were  reflected  in  his  after  life,  and  gave  tone  and 
color  to  his  maturer  years." 

Moretown  is  indeed  a  sequestered  spot.  It  is  stretched  on 
a  mountain-side,  sloping  mostly  to  the  westward.  The  lesser 
peaks  of  the  eastern  ridge  of  the  Green  mountains  form  its 
eastern  boundary;  adown  its  western  half  dashes  the  Mad 
river,  which  falls  into  the  Winooski  or  Onion  river  on  the 
north ;  and  out  of  the  west,  overlooking  a  beautiful  panorama 
of  broken  rock  and  green,  the  blue  and  bold  outlines  of  the 
Camel's  Hump  rise  four  thousand  feet  into  the  clouds.  Mont- 
pelier,  the  capital  of  the  state,  is  ten  or  a  dozen  miles  up  the 
Winooski  river,  and  Waterbury  an  equal  distance  below  — 
staid,  quiet,  cultivated  places,  in  strange  contrast  with  the 
rough  surroundings  and  the  tumultuous  waters  that  sometimes 
rush  past  their  doors.  But  it  is,  withal,  just  such  a  vale  as  a 
poet  would  have  chosen  to  be  the  birthplace  of  a  man  like 
Carpenter. 

"  'Tis  a  rough  land  of  earth  and  stone  and  tree, 

Where  breathes  no  castled  lord  or  cabin'd  slave; 
Where  thoughts  and  tongues  and  hands  are  bold  and  free, 

And  friends  will  find  a  welcome,  foes  a  grave ; 
And  where  none  kneel  save  when  to  Heaven  they  pray  — 
Nor  even  then,  unless  in  their  own  way. 

"  They  love  their  land  because  it  is  their  own, 
And  scorn  to  give  aught  other  reason  why  — 

Would  shake  hands  with  a  king  upon  his  throne 
And  think  it  kindness  to  his  majesty. 

A.  stubborn  race,  fearing  and  flattering  none  — 
Such  are  they  nurtured,  such  they  live  and  die. 

**  And  minds  have  there  been  nurtured  whose  control 

Is  felt  even  in  their  nation's  destiny; 
Men  who  swayed  senates  with  a  statesman's  soul 

And  look'd  on  armies  with  a  leader's  eye  — 
Names  that  adorn  and  dignify  the  scroll 

Whose  leaves  contain  their  country's  history."  1 

1  Fitz-Greene  Halleck. 


AN   ANCIENT   FAMILY.  15 


AN   ANCIENT  FAMILY. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  northern  provinces  of  France,  more 
particularly  those  of  Normandy,  began,  very  soon  after  the 
year  1000,  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  an  uncorrupted  line 
of  distinction  for  those  who  had  acquired  fame  or  property, 
to  use  family  surnames.  This  custom  was  carried  into  Eng 
land  by  the  Normans  under  William  the  Conquerer.  Among 
William's  sixty  thousand  soldiers,  present  at  the  battle  of  Has 
tings,  A.  D.  1066,  were  warriors  of  the  name  of  Charpentier, 
who  remained  in  Britain  to  carry  out  over  his  new  subjects  the 
deep  and  tyrannous  plans  of  that  rigorous  invader.  But  as 
Domesday  Book,  that  stupendous  monument  to  William's 
far-reaching  genius,  and  the  most  valuable  record  of  olden 
times  possessed  by  any  nation,  mentions  Carpenters  in  the 
various  "  hundreds  "  of  Hereford,  Kent,  and  other  districts,  it 
is  impossible  to  say  definitely  in  what  direction  through  Eng 
land  came  the  present  family  of  Carpenters  —  whether  from 
ancient  Britons,  more  ancient  Romans,  or  ancient  Normans, 
or  a  mixture  of  all. 

There  were  two  principal  sources  of  family  surnames  in 
establishing  distinct  families,  those  arising  from  locality  and 
those  describing  occupation.  The  Carpenters  were  of  the 
latter;  and,  therefore,  as  surnames  were  not  in  vogue  in 
Britain  at  the  invasion  of  William  the  Conquerer,  those  pure 
Britons  entered  in  Domesday  Book  under  that  name  were 
undoubtedly  such  builders  or  wood-workers  as  had  arrived 
at  the  dignity  of  possessing  a  pig  or  a  yardland  of  ground, 
and  were  therefore  to  be  put  upon  record  as  carpenters  (the 
same  as  bakers  or  websters)  owing  tribute  to  the  king.  As 
soon  as  the  habit  of  adopting  fixed  names  became  estab 
lished,  the  significance  of  these  descriptive  titles  disappeared, 
and  the  sons  of  Carpenters,  while  bearing  a  name  indicating 
that  they  originally  sprung  from  builders  and  wood  artisans, 
became  masons,  miners,  physicians,  gentlemen  and  nobles; 
and  the  sons  of  Bakers  and  Miners  became  carpenters,  web 
sters,  tanners,  and  the  like. 


l6  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

It  is  asserted,  though  the  records  in  proof  are  vague,  that 
Edward  II  caused  an  act  to  be  passed  compelling  the  use  of 
family  names  according  to  locality  and  occupation,  thus  fix 
ing  the  date  for  the  common  use  in  England  of  Carpenter, 
Baker,  etc.,  to  describe  families  and  tribes,  at  1308.  It  is 
certain,  however,  that  in  1465  Edward  IV  had  an  act  pub 
lished  compelling  all  subjects  who  had  not  yet  adopted  that 
style  to  "  goe  apparelled  like  Englishmen,  weare  their  beards 
like  Englishmen,  and  take  English  surnames  like  unto  their 
townes,  as  Chester,  their  arte,  as  Carpenter,  or  their  office,  as 
Cooke  or  Butler." 

The  reign  of  the  Norman  kings  in  Great  Britain  closed  in 
1154,  and  thereafter,  under  the  reign  of  the  Plantagenets  and 
the  Tudors,  some  of  the  Carpenter  family  arose  to  distinc 
tion.  They  spread  into  various  counties  and  became  bishops, 
sheriffs,  judges  and  gentlemen.  There  is  a  tradition  that  the 
Carpenter  with  whom  this  volume  will  deal  descended  from 
an  ancient  family  of  that  name  in  Hereford,  a  county  border 
ing  on  Wales.  A  moment's  attention  will  therefore  be  given 
to  this  source  of  descent.  The  Hereford  portion  of  the 
Domesday  Book  mentions  Carpenters  and  Carpentarii,  so 
they  were  early  and  prominent  occupants  of  that  fertile  and 
beautiful  section. 

The  Norman  nobles  who  settled  in  Hereford  and  along 
the  Welsh  border  were  called  the  "  Lords  Marchers."  Sub 
sequently,  in  the  Red  Book  of  the  Exchequer  they  were 
styled  Marchiones  Walliae  (marchers  or  governors  of  the 
border  land  of  Wales).  During  the  reign  of  Richard  II  a 
nobleman  of  this  sort  became  a  marquis.  These  primal 
lords  marchers  were  similar  to  barons  and  sat  in  parliament. 
They  made  laws,  and  all  suits,  not  concerning  a  barony 
itself,  between  tenants,  or  between  tenants  and  others,  were 
begun  and  concluded  before  them.  Their  jurisdiction  being 
original  and  unlimited,  they  fell  into  the  ways  of  tyranny,  in 
justice  and  public  outrage.  Their  "  exactions,  molestations, 
undue  delays,  malpractices,  exorbitant  fees  and  intolerable 
impoverishments"  became  such  a  scandal  that  a  court  of 


AN   ANCIENT    FAMILY.  1 7 

judicature  was  instituted  under  Edward  IV  with  noblemen 
residing  at  Ludlow  castle  as  lords  lieutenants  of  the  marches. 
These  lieutenants  were  surrounded  by  the  highest  circum 
stances  of  royalty  until  their  dissolution  by  act  of  parliament 
under  William  and  Mary.  The  first  lord  lieutenant  of  the 
marches  was  John  Carpenter,  who  opened  court  amidst  the 
costliest  splendors,  in  1469.  He  wore  the  robes  about  four 
teen  years,  "making  certain  ordinances  and  punishments  for 
the  weale  and  tranquility  of  the  towne." 

Hereford,  though  ancient  and  rich,  has  had  less  of  her  his 
tory  written  than  almost  any  other  county  of  Great  Britain; 
so  but  little  more  is  seen  of  this  particular  line  of  Carpenters 
until  Cromwell's  time,  in  which  they  are  mentioned  as  sol 
diers  of  great  strength  and  valor.  Charles  II*  succeeded 
Richard  Cromwell  in  1660,  and  in  the  official  lists  of  "  men 
of  Noble  and  Gentle  birth  "  made  at  that  time  for  Hereford, 
appear  "Thomas  Carpenter,  gentleman,  Rudhall  Carpen 
ter,  Esquire,  Thomas  Carpenter,  Esquire,1  and  Corne- 
wall  Carpenter,  gentleman,"  all  of  whom  had  sons  and 
brothers. 

The  list  of  sheriffs,  doing  the  earl's  will  and  carrying  the 
king's  writs,  extends  in  Hereford  from  a  period  previous  to 
the  Norman  conquest.  In  this  list  may  be  found  several 
Carpenters,  who  were  especially  strong  under  Queen  Anne 
and  George  I.  Subsequently,  the  Carpenter  nobility  and 
gentry  —  descendants  of  the  honorable  men  of  Domesday  — 

lln  "recording  and  accurately  displaying  the  remarkable  actions  and 
sufferings,  virtues,  vices,  parts  and  learning"  of  the  Hereford  Carpen 
ters,  "  from  the  earliest  accounts  of  time  to  the  present  period,"  an  early 
English  biographical  work  in  eight  volumes  has  this  account  of  George 
(Lord)  Carpenter:  "  He  was  descended  from  an  ancient  family  in  Hertford 
shire  [Hereford],  and  born  in  Pitchers  Ocull,  in  that  county,  on  the  loth  of 
February,  1657,  and  was  the  son  of  Warncomb  Carpenter,  sixth  son  of 
Thomas  Carpenter,  Esq.,  lord  of  the  manor  of  Homme  [Holme]  in  the  parish 
of  Dilwynne,  near  Woebly ;  which  manor,  with  a  considerable  estate,  has 
been  in  this  family  and  lineally  descended  from  father  to  son  for  above  four 
hundred  years,  and  is  now  [1795]  in  the  possession  of  the  Earl  of  Tyrcon- 
nel." 


l8  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

were  endowed  with  coat-armor.1  It  is  difficult  to  trace  the 
circumstances  under  which  this  armor  fell  to  them,  as  com 
paratively  few  families  of  the  gentry  have  any  exact  date 
of  their  arms.  The  College  of  Arms  goes  back  only  to  the 
reign  of  Richard  III.  Previous  to  that  time,  coat-armor  was 
the  immediate  gift  of  royalty,  or  conferred  by  commanders 
upon  those  who  had  earned  it  by  valor  in  battle.  The  crest 
and  motto. of  the  Carpenters  have  the  appearance  of  having 
come  from  the  latter  class.  At  least,  several  of  the  family  in 
early  generations  were  distinguished  commanders. 

It  may  now  be  discernible  that  the  Carpenter  family  is 
ancient,  noble  and  gentle  —  one  of  the  very  oldest  of  dis 
tinctive  human  tribes  in  Britain.  The  large  number  of  that 
name  found  in  the  records  with  the  Christian  prefix  of  William 
tends  to  establish  their  Norman  descent;  yet,  as  Carpenters 
were  listed  in  1080  in  Domesday  who  could  not  have  been 
Normans,  they  may  have  come  down  through  feuds  and 
blood  from  the  Fabers,  Fabricuses  and  Carpentarii  of  the 
Romans.  Lower,  one  of  the  most  noted  of  English  phi 
lologists,  says  the  Carpentarii  of  Domesday  Book  were 
"  tenants-in-chief  and  honorable  men."  They  would  seem, 
therefore,  to  have  been  Romans. 

The  subject  of  this  memoir  was  descended  from  those 
hardy  immigrants  who  were  among  the  very  first  settlers  of 
New  England.  With  the  crossing  of  the  ocean  not  only  all 
nobility  but  all  connection  with  it  was  technically  destroyed. 
Otherwise,  a  vast  estate,  lying  in  trust  in  England  for  the 
Carpenters,  might  be  secured,  and  a  perfect  line  of  descent 
back  to  the  Norman  invasion  be  herein  presented.  But 
where  indefatigable  lawyers,  drawn  forward  by  the  enticing 
glow  of  an  almost  limitless  legacy,  have  failed,  a  mere  biog 
rapher  is  content  to  go  on,  admitting  his  defeat  in  the 
attempt  to  connect,  in  close  legal  manner,  the  Carpenter  line 

1 "  Paly  of  six  ar.  and  gu.  on  a  chev.  az.  three  crosses  crosslet  or.  Crest  — 
A  globe  in  frame,  all  or.  Supporters  —  Two  horses,  per  fesse  embattled 
ar.  and  gu.  Motto —  Per  acuta  belli." — Burkes  General  Armory. 


THE   CARPENTERS   IN   AMERICA.  1 9 

of  primogeniture  in  England  and  America,  feeling  safe  to 
assert,  however;  after  exhaustive  research,  that  British  and 
American  records  and  traditions  are  sufficiently  corrobora 
tive  of  each  other  to  give  credence  to  the  genealogy  now 
assumed. 

THE  CARPENTERS  IN  AMERICA. 

(i)  William  Carpenter,  born  in  England  in  1576,  sailed 
from  Southampton  in  the  Bevis  in  May,  1638,  and  landed 
probably  at  Boston.  He  was  accompanied  by  his  son  (2) 
William,  aged  33,  who  had  a  wife,  Abigail,  and  four  chil 
dren  "  of  ten  years  olde  and  less."  He  settled  at  Weymouth, 
Mass.,  became  a  freeman  in  May,  1640,  and  was  a  repre 
sentative  in  1641  and  1643.  He  died  in  1659.  The  second 
(2)  William  took  up  an  abode  with  his  family  and  servant  at 
Rehoboth,  Mass.  Among  his  four  children,  born  in  Eng 
land  and  brought  over  in  the  Bevis,  was  (3)  William,  who, 
October  5,  1651,  married  Priscilla  Bonnet  (or  Bonette).  Of 
his  children,  (4)  Benjamin,  born  October  20,  1663,  married 
Hannah,  daughter  of  Jedediah  Strong.  Benjamin's  tenth 
child,  (5)  Ebenezer,  born  at  Coventry,  Ct.,  November  9, 
1709,  married  Eunice  Thompson,  and  among  his  children 
was  (6)  James,  born  at  Coventry,  April  15,  1741,  who  mar 
ried  Irene  Ladd.  James  had  fourteen  children,  of  whom 
(7)  Cephas,  born  at  Coventry,  July  8,  1770,  married  Anna 
Benton  and  reared  ten  children,  of  whom  (8)  Ira,  born  at 
Moretown,  Vt.,  April  29,  1798,  married  Esther  Ann  Luce 
(born  December  24, 1802).  She  died  February  i,  1835,  ^eav" 
ing  four  children  —  (9)  Decatur  Merritt  Hammond,1  whose 
narrative  we  are  now  following,  born  December  22,  1824; 
Anna  Amelia,  born  June  17,  1827,  married  and  resides  at 
Grand  Forks,  Dakota;  Esther  Johnson,  born  March  23, 

1  Subsequently,  as  will  appear  farther  on,  his  name  was  changed  to  Mat 
thew  Hale  Carpenter;  but  Merritt  will  be  used  to  designate  him  in  connec 
tion  with  any  incident  related  in  this  work  that  transpired  before  that 
change  was  made. 


2O  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

1830,  married  and  resides  at  St.  Paul,  Minn.;  and  Cephas 
Warner,  born  August  2,  1832,  and  resides  at  St.  Paul, 
Minn.  Ira  Carpenter,  marrying  a  second  time,  increased 
his  family  by  four  sons  and  two  daughters.  The  second 
marriage  resulted  in  sending  the  children  of  the  first  wife 
out  to  early  efforts  in  their  own  behalf,  making,  prac 
tically,  a  separate  family  of  them,  as  we  shall  see  pres 
ently  by  following  the  footsteps  of  Merritt,  whose  early 
fortunes  were  but  little  different  from  those  of  his  brother 
and  sisters. 

The  Carpenters  were  generally  of  good  stock,  mentally 
and  physically.  They  have,  beginning  as  far  back  as  1641, 
held  various  offices  of  honor  and  trust  and  occupied  respect 
able  positions  in  their  several  communities  in  Massachusetts, 
Connecticut  and  Vermont.  They  have,  for  more  than  two 
centuries,  fought  all  the  battles  of  their  country  —  against  the 
aborigines  in  defense  of  their  humble  cabins  and  plantations; 
against  the  French  and  Indians,  twice  against  the  British, 
against  the  Mexicans,  and  at  last  in  the  Rebellion  for  the 
extirpation  of  the  oligarchy  of  slavery.  Their  names  have 
entered  history  as  clergymen,  attorneys,  manufacturers,  sol 
diers,  representatives,  journalists,  physicians  and  judges  of 
rather  more  than  ordinary  reputation.  Coming  to  America 
in  the  earliest  colonial  times,  "their  sons  and  their  sons' 
sons," .  having  wrought  the  desert  into  a  garden,  planted 
civilization  in  the  abodes  of  savagery,  and  reared,  amidst  the 
surrounding  realms  of  autocracy  and  bondage,  an  empire  of 
freedom  that  is  shaking  the  gyves  from  all  mankind,  have 
now  "  compassed  all  the  lands  round  about." 

Esther  Ann  Luce,  Merritt's  mother,  was  the  daughter  of 
a  minister  of  some  renown,  and  a  woman  of  more  than 
ordinary  personal  attractions  and  mental  accomplishments. 
She  was  a  sweet-tempered,  gentle,  Christian  woman,  who 
had  the  fear  of  God  before  her  eves.  Naturally  ambitious 
concerning  the  worldly  welfare  and  honor  of  her  children, 
she  was  yet  more  solicitous  for  their  spiritual  well-being. 


THE   CARPENTERS   IN   AMERICA.  21 

Living,  she  reared  them  gently,  teaching  the  beauty  and 
sweetness  of  the  golden  rule;  and  dying,  committed  their 
future  to  Him  who  sent  manna  to  the  children  of  Israel  in 
the  wilderness  and  who  tempereth  the  winds  to  the  shorn 
lamb.  She  died  blessing  her  babes  and  her  Savior,  but 
blessed  the  world  by  leaving  in  Merritt's  sobbing  breast  the 
sunny  temper  and  the  tender  heart  that  had  made  herself  so 
lovely. 

Ira  Carpenter  was  a  particularly  fine-looking  man,  easy  in 
his  manner,  social  in  his  habits,  and  a  favorite  among 
acquaintances.  For  more  than  twenty  years  he  held  the 
office  of  deputy  sheriff  or  sheriff,  and  was  frequently  con 
stable  of  the  town,  justice  of  the  peace,  postmaster  and  repre 
sentative  in  the  legislature.  He  was  well  posted  in  politics,  a 
fluent  debater  among  his  neighbors,  and  stronger  than  the 
ordinary  run  of  men  in  argument  and  logic.  Although 
agile,  trustworthy  and  shrewd  in  business  methods,  he  never 
theless  accumulated  no  property.  He  departed  this  life  at 
Warren,  Vt.,  October  23,  1862. 

Cephas  Carpenter  was  a  man  of  vigorous  intellect,  giant 
frame  and  prominent  characteristics.  He  was  robust  phys 
ically  and  mentally.  For  the  extraordinary  period  of  forty 
years  he  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  Moretown,  and  pre 
sided  at  the  trial  of  cases  almost  without  number.  If  a  cause 
chanced  to  go  to  trial  before  another  justice,  Cephas  Carpen 
ter  was  generally  present  acting  as  counsel  for  one  or  the 
other  of  the  parties  litigant.  He  had  a  clear  idea  of  equity 
and  knew  a  great  deal  of  law.  "The  Vermont  Historical 
Gazetteer "  records  of  him :  "  He  was  a  good  lawyer 
though  not  a  member  of  any  bar."  His  adroitness  and 
sturdy  eloquence  hardly  ever  failed  to  bring  discomfiture 
upon  the  best  regular  practitioners  who  opposed  him.  Law 
was  his  business,  theology  his  pleasure,  and  it  was  notorious 
that  he  whipped  the  professional  advocates  of  the  former  as 
easily  as  he  put  to  rout  the  regular  divines  of  the  latter.  If 
there  was  any  one  to  oppose  him,  he  would  argue  theology 


22  LIFE   OF  CARPENTER. 

by  the  day,  and  it  was  the  common  understanding  in  his 
neighborhood  that  "Col.  Carpenter  had  never  met  his 
match."  It  is  certain  that  he  was  a  man  of  no  ordinary 
parts,  and  that,  had  he  been  schooled  and  trained  in  law  or 
theology,  he  would  have  become  a  famous  character.  His 
admirable  mental  and  many  of  his  physical  qualities  re 
appeared  in  his  grandson,  whose  life  is  presented  in  this  vol 
ume,  and  there  received  the  culture  and  training  he  lacked 
so  much  but  so  richly  deserved.  His  death  occurred  in 
peace  and  quietness,  at  the  ripe  age  of  eighty-nine,  beloved 
and  respected  by  all  who  knew  him.  He  was  one  of  the 
very  first  settlers  of  Moretown,  and  amid  many  privations 
and  hardships,  helped  to  pay  for  the  land  in  the  original 
purchase  at  so  many  ears  of  maize  per  acre, 

CHILDHOOD. 

If  it  had  any  bearing  further  than  to  picture  traits  of  char 
acter,  much  that  is  interesting  might  be  said  concerning 
Carpenter's  childhood.  His  mother  dying  when  he  was 
slightly  more  than  ten  years  of  age,  a  step-mother  was 
brought  to  take  her  place  less  than  a  twelve-month  later. 
Although  this  was  a  wise  move  for  his  younger  brothers  and 
sisters,  it  was  not  relished  by  him,  who  never  got  on  harmo 
niously  with  the  second  mother. 

In  babyhood  or  boyhood  he  was  not  an  ordinary  child. 
At  the  age  of  two  years  his  shapely  head  was  stroked  by 
Paul  Dillingham,  the  successful  Waterbury  attorney,  who 
expanded  and  nourished  the  mother's  natural  pride  by  ob 
serving  that  her  child  had  a  fine  brain  and  must  be  trained 
for  a  distinguished  future.  This  semi-prophecy  was  never 
forgotten,  and  as  soon  as  he  could  utter  simple  words,  Mrs. 
Carpenter  began  to  teach  her  babe  the  letters  of  the  alpha 
bet  from  the  few  stiff  sentences  that  adorned  the  family 
cook-stove.  He  learned  easily,  and  before  his  little  legs 
could  carry  him  straight  and  steady,  was  in  the  habit  of 
astonishing  the  neighbors  by  repeating  every  letter  the  stove 


CHILDHOOD.  23 

contained.  From  this  he  advanced  to  other  things,  and 
when  he  had  arrived  at  school  age,  was  the  "  smartest  lad  in 
Moretown." 

Although  Merritt  grew  rapidly,  had  thick,  beautiful  hair 
and  was  a  handsome  child,  he  was  not  robust.  On  the  con 
trary  he  was  rather  pale  and  slim,  and  by'  his  companions 
was  sometimes  called  "  spindle-shanks."  He  loved  reading 
and  was  very  studious  in  school,  but  from  the  very  first  was 
on  exceedingly  bad  terms  with  all  forms  of  manual  labor. 
To  be  exactly  truthful,  he  hated  work,  and  manifested  his 
first  shrewdness  in  devising  means  to  avoid  it.  He  loved  to 
read  and  play,  and  if  left  to  himself  would  divide  the  time 
about  evenly  between  the  two.  His  father,  as  constable, 
sheriff',  and  deputy  sheriff,  was  generally  compelled  to  spend 
much  of  his  time  in  absence  from  home.  Before  leaving  in 
the  morning  it  was  usual  for  him  to  lay  out  a  day's  work  for 
Merritt,  and  it  was -equally  usual  for  him  to  return  at  night 
and  find  the  task  incomplete  or  untouched.  All  the  means 
of  coercion  known  in  those  sturdy  days  were  resorted  to  in 
vain;  the  boy  did  not  and  would  not  work.  Upon  one  occa 
sion,  the  paternal  Carpenter  told  the  son  he  must  hoe  a 
certain  piece  of  corn  or  receive  a  "  sound  whipping."  After 
the  father  had  mounted  his  horse  and  departed,  Merritt 
shouldered  a  hoe  and  proceeded  to  avoid  chastisement.  On 
the  following  morning,  Mr.  Carpenter  went  to  the  garden  to 
view  the  labors  of  his  promising  offspring,  and  found  that 
each  hill  of  corn  had  been  slightly  scratched  around  close  up  to 
the  roots  of  the  stalks,  while  in  between  the  rows  the  swamp 
of  noxious  weeds  remained  untouched.  Returning  briskly  to 
the  house,  the  father  called  Merritt  before  him.  "  I  thought 
I  told  you  to  hoe  that  corn,"  was  the  stern  ejaculation.  "  I 
did  hoe  it,  father,  every  hill  of  the  patch,"  replied  the  boy 
with  becoming  gentility.  "Yes,  you  did,  at  a  great  rate! 
The  weeds  are  just  as  thick  as  ever,"  said  the  father,  in  a 
still  more  threatening  tone.  "You  never  touched  them." 
"But  father,"  pleaded  the  young  Bacon  with  well-assumed 


24  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

simplicity  of  manner,  "  you  only  told  me  to  hoe  the  corn.  I 
didn't  know  you  wanted  the  -weeds  hoed,  too! "  Shrewdness 
and  naiveness  probably  saved  him  a  whipping,  but  finally 
Merritt  was  obliged  to  hoe  both  the  weeds  and  the  corn, 
greatly  to  his  childish  disgust. 

At  another  time,  before  riding  to  Montpelier  to  attend  to 
the  day's  business,  Mr.  Carpenter  said  to  his  son :  "  Mer 
ritt,  I  have  hired  Johnny  Eagan  to  hoe  potatoes.  Now 
you  must  help  him,  and  what  you  and  he  don't  do  to-day, 
you  will  be  obliged  to  finish  to-morrow  without  help,  for  I 
can  afford  to  hire  but  one  day's  work."  Now,  Johnny 
Eagan  was  exceedingly  fond  of  Merritt  and  also  partial 
toward  "just  the  laste  dhrap  of  the  cratur."  The  two  un 
derstood  each  other  perfectly.  The  boy,  therefore,  having 
formulated  his  plan  for  the  day,  went  early  and  purchased 
a  small  decanter  of  whisky,  and  leaving  his  hoe  hanging 
comfortably  in  the  wood-shed,  proceeded  to  the  potato-patch 
with  a  book  and  the  bottle.  At  seven  o'clock,  at  the  first 
hill  of  the  first  row,  he  gave  Johnny  a  light  draught,  and, 
running  to  the  other  side  of  the  field,  shook  the  flagon,  cried 
"  come  on,"  and  settled  down  to  read.  Johnny  hoed  through 
the  row  as  if  propelled  by  steam,  and  as  a  reward  had 
another  brief  pull  at  the  liquor.  Merritt  then  turned  back  to 
the  place  of  beginning,  again  raised  aloft  the  flagon  so  the 
sun  would  glint  through  the  amber  depths  of  the  "  water  of 
life"  it  contained,  shouted  again  "come  on,  Johnny,"  and 
resumed  his  book.  This  process  was  repeated  in  various 
forms  during  the  day,  and  when  the  elder  Carpenter  re 
turned  at  night,  he  found  Merritt  as  fresh  and  jolly  as  a 
cricket,  every  hill  of  potatoes  well  hoed,  and  Johnny  stretched 
upon  a  bench  reeking  wet  with  perspiration  and  weak  from 
weariness.  Since  that  day  it  has  not  been  uncommon  in 
Moretown  to  hear  whisky  mentioned  as  "  Carpenter's  potato 
cultivator."  But  the  most  interesting  feature  remains  to  be 
related.  A  still  deeper  friendship  sprung  up  between  Mer 
ritt  Carpenter  and  Johnny  Eagan,  which  lasted  until  the  end 


CHILDHOOD.  25 

of  life,  and  never,  after  Carpenter  went  west  and  became  a 
conspicuous  figure  in  the  nation,  did  he  go  back  to  Vermont 
without  procuring  a  carriage  and  driving  up  the  Green 
mountains  to  "  Hardscrabble  Hill,"  to  greet  and  visit  in  his 
humble  home  the  jolly  Irishman  who  saved  him  a  day's  work 
in  the  potato-patch.  The  last  time  these  curious  friends  met 
was  after  the  kind-hearted  Irishman  had  passed  his  eightieth 
year.  Carpenter  was  to  pay  a  brief  visit  to  Moretown,  and 
sent  in  advance  to  have  a  carriage  bring  the  withered  com 
panion  of  his  youth  down  from  the  mountain.  The  request 
was  complied  with,  and  when  the  two  came  together  they 
clasped  each  other  like  brothers.  After  he  had  been  elected 
to  the  senate,  Carpenter  came  across  an  old  friend  from 
Moretown,  and  the  two  settled  down  together  to  review  the 
scenes  of  their  childhood.  One  after  another  the  fates  and 
successes  of  old  acquaintances  were  discussed,  and  when  the 
friend  announced  that  Johnny  Eagan  had  "  gone  the  way  of 
all  the  earth,"  Carpenter  bowed  his  head  and  wept.  But  it 
is  not  difficult  to  account  for  the  apparently  strange  freak  of 
love  between  a  bright,  playful  child  and  a  poor  old  Irishman. 
Merritt  was  a  boy  of  conspicuous  winsomeness  and  promise, 
and  Eagan,  though  brought  down  to  poverty  and  obscurity 
by  many  misfortunes,  had  been  well  bred  and  well  educated, 
and  retained  all  his  intellectuality  and  love  of  it  in  others. 
He  delighted  in  the  sympathetic  and  eloquent  reading  of  his 
young  friend,  and  would  at  any  time,  in  order  to  hear  it,  saw 
wood,  hoe  in  the  garden,  or  lift  other  tasks  from  Merritt's 
shoulders. 

After  all,  the  boy  was  not  lazy.  He  was  misjudged.  The 
work-a-day  people  of  Moretown  thought  his  hatred  of  hoe 
and  "  hard-pan  "  meant  indolence.  Therein  they  were  hon 
estly  mistaken.  He  would  begin  any  book  or  branch  of 
study  with  eagerness  and  pursue  it  to  the  end  with  persist 
ent  diligence,  but  he  simply  would  not  bend  his  back  to 
manual  labor  when  there  was  a  possible  mode  of  escape, 
though  extremely  industrious  in  the  direction  of  his  inclina- 


26  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

tions.  His  favorite  companion  was  a  playful,  sturdy  lad 
named  "Joe  "  Sawyer.  They  were  almost  constantly  to 
gether,  although  their  homes  were  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
Mad  river.  They  did  nothing  particularly  mischievous  or 
out  of  character,  simply  played  up  and  down  the  river  or  sat 
in  some  rocky  nook  listening  to  each  other's  spirited  reading. 
This  Utopian  programme  of  boyhood  brought  no  return  to 
either  family,  but  greatly  annoyed  the  fathers  of  both,  who, 
as  was  wont  in  those  close  and  thrifty  days,  looked  upon 
idleness  or  play  as  something  actually  next  to  the  bad.  The 
elder  Carpenter  and  Sawyer,  counseling  together  upon  the 
general  unproductiveness  of  their  boys,  determined  to  keep 
them  apart.  Each,  therefore,  told  his  son  not  to  cross  the 
Mad  river.  The  order  was  delivered  in  the  early  morning 
to  young  Carpenter,  with  the  father's  addendum  that  he  was 
determined  to  prevent  the  squandering  of  so  much  valuable 
time  in  play  with  "Joe  "  Sawyer.  After  breakfast  Merritt 
went  to  the  bridge  crossing  the  river,  hung  his  legs  over  the 
side  of  the  structure,  and  began  a  loud,  long  whistle,  a  sort 
of  bugle-call.  In  a  short  time  "Joe "  came  sauntering 
toward  the  whistler.  The  two  boys,  with  mutually  droll 
winks,  met  and  played  together,  spending  an  exceedingly 
joyous  day  on  the  bridge.  When  they  parted  at  night  Mer 
ritt  shrewdly  observed:  "Now,  we  haven't  crossed  the 
river  nor  disobeyed  our  fathers,  have  we,  Joe  ? " 

The  boys  learned  their  lessons  easily  and  quickly,  and 
therefore  had  an  overabundance  of  leisure  for  those  gallop 
ing  frolics  and  mischievous  pranks  in  school  which,  though 
perpetrated  without  the  faintest  trace  of  wickedness  or 
malice,  were  nevertheless  extremely  annoying  to  the  teach 
ers.  On  one  occasion  during  the  winter  after  Merritt  was 
thirteen  years  of  age,  he  and  his  crony,  with  other  large 
boys,  had  turned  two  teachers  out  of  the  Moretown  school. 
That  is,  they  had  made  things  so  disagreeable  generally  that 
the  teachers,  who  were  really  incompetent  both  in  education 
and  discipline,  abandoned  the  school.  A  third  had  been  en- 


CHILDHOOD.  27 

gaged,  but  as  he  was  no  improvement  upon  the  others,  the 
boys,  unable  to  proceed  satisfactorily  with  their  studies, 
began  to  vex  him  and  to  lay  plans  for  his  dethronement.  At 
this  point  Merritt  and  "  Joe  "  were  sent  by  their  respective 
fathers,  who  had  counseled  together  again,  into  the  neigh 
boring  forest  to  chop  wood.  They  received  with  their  axes 
a  promise  that  whenever  they  would  bind  themselves  to 
cease  their  vexatious  conduct  toward  the  pedagogue,  they 
might  return  from  the  forest  and  resume  steady  attendance 
upon  school.  At  the  end  of  a  week,  sore  and  weary,  they 
resolved  that  the  lot  of  a  meek  and  subjugated  student  was 
preferable  to  that  of  the  greatest  wood-chopper.  With  axes 
and  buoyancy  equally  dulled,  they  thereupon  returned  to 
Moretown,  and  on  the  following  Monday  created  a  gentle 
sensation  by  resuming  their  accustomed  seats.  The  boys 
were  fine  scholars  for  persons  of  their  ages,  and  really  de 
sirous  of  further  proficiency;  but  the  third  teacher  proving 
as  weak  and  inefficient  as  the  others,  they  soon  determined 
to  expel  him,  and  in  a  very  few  days  accomplished  it  by  bar 
ricading  the  doors  against  his  entrance.  This  action  was 
not  much  regretted  by  the  officers  of  the  district,  though 
naturally  it  could  not  be  openly  indorsed.  They  at  once  in 
stalled  an  elderly  gentleman  named  Miller.  He  was  of  lib 
eral  education  and  stern  discipline,  and  carried  the  school 
through  with  success  and  satisfaction.  In  connection  with 
his  pedagogic  reign  an  incident  must  be  brought  in  at  this 
point.  Among  the  leading  features  of  winter  life  in  the 
country  as  far  back  as  1837  were  the  jolly,  old-fashioned 
spelling-schools.  They  were  planned  and  consummated 
with  a  zest  unknown  to  modern  days,  and  possessed  a  charm 
that  never  failed  to  draw  out  the  entire  community,  old  and 
young.  In  the  spelling-schools  of  Moretown  Merritt  always 
had  a  prominent  part,  being  the  best  declaimer  in  the  village. 
Mr.  Miller's  term  was  not  without  the  usual  number  of 
them,  and  at  a  certain  one  Merritt  was  to  declaim  one  of  the 
brilliant  orations  of  Henry  Clay.  He  and  his  Grandfather 


28  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

Carpenter  were  both  ardent  admirers  of  the  Kentucky 
statesman,  and  when  the  crowd  gathered  in  the  evening,  it 
was  noted  with  interest  that  a  large  and  striking  portrait  of 
Clay  occupied  the  most  sightly  place  on  the  rostrum. 

Miller  was  of  the  opposite  political  devotions,  and,  being 
of  determined  convictions,  disliked  Clay  even  more  vehe 
mently  than  young  Carpenter  admired  him.  On  entering 
the  school -house  his  eye  fell  instantly  upon  the  offending 
picture.  The  audience  knew  full  well  his  hatred  of  Clay, 
and  dropped  suddenly  into  an  anxious  silence  to  observe 
what  course  of  procedure  the  teacher  would  adopt.  He 
halted  with  abrupt  and  tragic  indignation,  and  throwing  his 
piercing  glances  searchingly  over  the  crowded  room,  de 
manded:  "Who  had  the  temerity  to  perpetrate  this  insult  — 
who  swung  that  picture  ?  "  Merritt,  with  the  frankness  and 
fearlessness  that  characterized  his  youth  as  well  as  his  man 
hood,  arose  without  delay  and  answered:  "I  did,  sir."  The 
master's  eyes  blazed  as  he  hesitated  for  a  moment  to  deter 
mine  what  should  be  done,  and  he  thundered:  "  Remove  it 
instantly;  take  it  out  of  the  house  !"  Merritt  proceeded  to 
the  rostrum  in  silent  but  grieved  obedience  to  the  master's 
command.  He  had  hardly  unstrung  the  reflective  face  of 
the  immortal  author  of  the  American  System  before  the 
massive  head  and  shoulders  of  his  grandfather,  Cephas  Car 
penter,  towered  above  the  assemblage.  All  eyes  turned 
toward  him  apprehensively,  for  it  was  possible  that  he  would 
hurl  the  angry  teacher  from  the  room.  Though  his  every 
ligament  and  motion  betrayed  agitation,  he  made  no  demon 
stration  toward  the  offender,  but  stretching  forth  his  long 
arms  he  said,  with  all  the  eloquence  of  earnestness:  "Come 
here  with  it,  my  boy ! "  Merritt  obeyed  as  implicitly  as 
though  he  had  received  no  contradictory  order  from  the 
teacher,  and  his  aged  grandparent,  still  erect,  clasped  the 
portrait,  kissed  it  tenderly  and  pressed  it  to  his  bosom. 

Silence  reigned  for  some  minutes  after  the  closing  of  this  in 
tensely  dramatic  scene.  The  baffled  master  stood  motion- 


CHILDHOOD.  29 

less  and  speechless,  and  all  were  pained  with  the  apparent 
impossibility  of  finding  a  way  to  start  the  proceedings  for 
ward  in  their  usual  rut.  Fortunately,  a  sleigh  of  visitors 
from  a  neighboring  district  unloaded  and  poured  in  at  that 
moment,  and  matters  again  resumed  their  accustomed  course. 

When  everybody  had  been  "  spelled  down,"  declamations 
were  in  order.  As  Merritt  in  his  turn  mounted  the  little 
rostrum,  no  one  failed  to  notice  that  his  boyish  spirit  was 
aroused  to  its  highest  pitch.  Grandfather  Carpenter,  still 
hugging  the  portrait,  advanced  a  few  seats  forward  that  he 
might  better  see  and  hear  his  pet  grandchild.  This  move 
ment  added  increased  interest  to  that  already  imparted  by 
the  earlier  incident  of  the  evening,  and  Merritt,  influenced 
by  what  had  been  transpiring,  surpassed  all  his  previous 
efforts.  As  he  descended  to  his  seat  the  building  trembled 
under  the  demonstrations  of  applause  that  greeted  him, 
while  Grandfather  Carpenter,  waiving  the  portrait  of  Clay 
high  over  his  head,  cried,  "  Bravo  !  Bravo  ! " 

The  term  of  school  taught  by  Miller  was  the  last  one 
attended  by  Merritt  in  Moretown. 

Mock  schools,  mock  military  maneuvers,  play-house 
building,  leaping,  wrestling  and  things  of  that  sort,  indulged 
in  by  every  hale  child  in  the  land  to  a  greater  or  less  extent, 
had  no  charms  for  Merritt.  He  was  rarely  known  to  partic 
ipate  in  the  ordinary  athletic  sports  of  boyhood.  But  he  en 
gaged  in  amusements  of  his  own  conception  with  ardor. 
During  political  campaigns  he  gathered  a  few  choice  cronies 
in  secluded  barns  or  sheds  and  gravely  addressed  them  on 
the  chief  issues  of  the  day.  "  Playing  funeral "  was  a  source 
of  amusement  at  home  in  which  he  took  great  delight.  His 
younger  sister,  Esther,  was  laid  out  by  himself  and  older 
sister  Anna  as  the  corpse,  and  stretched  on  an  old-fashioned 
chest,  the  lid  of  which,  removable,  served  as  a  bier.  Mer 
ritt  acted  as  preacher,  and  in  addition  to  giving  out  hymns  to 
be  sung  by  the  choir,  and  directing  things  generally,  always 
mounted  a  box  or  chair  and  pronounced  an  elaborate  funeral 


3O  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

sermon  upon  the  late  lamented,  setting  forth  her  admirable 
qualities  in  eloquent  and  feeling  terms.  These  remarkable 
performances,  which  originated  wholly  in  young  Carpenter's 
active  brain,  frequently  attracted  the  attention  of  the  neigh 
bors,  who  gathered  in  wonder  rather  than  woe,  and  departed 
in  merriment  rather  than  sorrow.  The  genuineness  and 
originality  of  his  funeral  sermons  wrere  generally  discussed 
by  the  neighbors,  who  pronounced  the  boy  far  too  remark 
able  for  a  long  life. 

At  numerous  points  through  Moretown  the  banks  of  Mad 
river  were  skirted  with  willows.  Under  their  thick  shade, 
in  secluded  bends  or  hollows,  Merritt  frequently  convened 
the  children  of  the  village  and  held  regular  "protracted 
meetings."  These  gatherings  were  in  all  their  appointments 
similar  to  the  religious  "  revivals  "  indulged  in  by  the  Meth 
odists  and  other  denominations  for  the  purpose  of  revivify 
ing  religious  sentiment  and  recruiting  the  ranks  of  those  who 
serve  the  Lord.  Merritt,  on  such  occasions,  always  did  the 
talking  or  exhorting,  and  so  eloquent  and  earnest  were  his 
appeals,  that,  according  to  the  testimony  of  one  or  two  surviv 
ing  participants,  some  of  his  hearers  were  in  the  habit  of 
being  deeply  moved,  bearing  public  evidence  to  the  power 
of  his  oratory  by  "  going  forward,"  and  signifying  their  in 
tention  to  renounce  the  world  and  enter  the  straight  and 
narrow  way  that  leadeth  unto  life  everlasting.  Sometimes 
Merritt's  revivals  were  largely  attended.  They  were  always 
interesting  and  successful,  adults  and  gray-heads  frequently 
crowding  the  back  seats.  At  that  time  the  villagers,  in  their 
discussions,  predicted  that  he  would  one  day  be  the  most  re 
nowned  pulpit  orator  in  America.  Having  a  natural  relig 
ious  sentiment,  full  of  the  spirit  of  power  and  of  eloquence, 
had  Carpenter's  lot  fallen  to  the  ministry  instead  of  the  law, 
this  prophecy  would  undoubtedly  have  become  a  verity. 

Although  "  fair  Moretown's  vale  "  was  generally  quiet  and 
peaceful  beyond  expression,  Carpenter  grew  up  to  be  an 
ardent  lover  of  mental  excitement  and  a  joyous  participant 


CHILDHOOD.  31 

in  stormy  proceedings.  In  the  fulness  of  life,  the  tumult  of 
war  and  the  excitement  of  political  contentions  roused  him 
to  his  greatest  efforts.  The  Mad  river,  which  dashed  by 
the  rear  of  his  father's  house,  frequently  became  a  roaring  tor 
rent.  Whenever  he  observed  the  angry  waters  creeping 
into  the  garden  and  threatening  the  out-buildings  of  his 
humble  home,  young  Carpenter  was  in  high  glee.  His 
spirits  seemed  to  rise  and  expand  with  the  floods,  and  he 
leaped  and  danced  up  and  down  the  banks  of  the  stream  in 
search  of  the  wildest  rapids  and  the  noisiest  cataracts.  These 
demonstrations  were  not  looked  upon  without  wonder,  as 
children  generally  tremble  at  storms  and  floods  and  shrink 
in  terror  from  a  roaring  waterfall.  When  he  was  a  very 
small  child,  an  unusual  flood  swept  down  the  jagged  channel 
of  the  river.  In  his  mother's  arms  Merritt  watched  the 
turgid  element  advance  to  the  threshold  of  his  father's  dwel 
ling,  which,  as  the  waters  continued  to  rise,  was  abandoned 
by  the  entire  family  in  the  middle  of  the  night.  By  the 
early  light  of  the  following  morning  they  saw  it  move  from 
the  foundations,  quickly  break  up,  and  the  scattered  timbers 
go  dancing  down  the  flooded  valley.  His  father  was  then 
postmaster  of  Moretown,  but  as  mail  was  received  only  once 
a  week,  the  public  loss  was  small. 

When  Merritt  arrived  at  the  period  where  he  began  to 
have  an  interest  in  public  men,  Daniel  Webster  was  the  fore 
most  statesman  and  orator  on  the  American  continent.  His 
speeches  were  the  general  theme  of  conversation,  and  Mer 
ritt  began  to  turn  his  attention  to  the  man  whose  fame  per 
meated  every  community  and  entered  the  remotest  social 
circle.  In  1835  a  new  edition  of  Webster's  speeches  and  ora 
tions  was  published,  which  renewed  public  interest  in  his  reply 
to  Hayne  on  the  Foote  resolutions  and  against  the  nullifica 
tion  theories  of  the  south.  When,  a  year  or  two  later,  the 
volume  reached  the  secluded  passes  of  the  Green  mountains, 
the  bright  young  boy  caught  the  spirit  of  the  lofty  patriot 
ism,  the  ponderous  logic  and  the  sonorous  eloquence  of  that 


32  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

splendid  effort,  and  began  to  commit  to  memory  its  seventy 
matchless  pages.  This  unusual  task  he  completed  in  two 
weeks,  at  the  same  time  keeping  up  all  the  studies  of  his 
classes  in  school.  It  was  then  given  out  that  Ira  Carpen 
ter's  son  would  deliver  one  of  Webster's  speeches  from 
memory,  in  a  neighboring  school-house,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Sunday  school.  An  admission  fee  was  charged,  yet  such  was 
the  reputation  of  the  boy  that  hardly  standing  room  re 
mained  when  the  hour  arrived  for  him  to  begin  the  declama 
tion.  He  made  his  appearance  like  a  trained  orator,  without 
trepidation  or  hesitancy,  and  although  nearly  two  hours  were 
consumed  in  the  delivery  of  the  oration,  he  went  through 
without  skip  or  break.  This  feat  was  considered  so  re 
markable,  and  the  elocutionary  powers  displayed  were  so 
unusual,  that  for  some  time  young  Carpenter  was  called  the 
"  Green  Mountain  Webster." 

Beginning  at  about  his  ninth  year,  Carpenter  read  the 
public  addresses  of  Webster,  Clay,  Choate  and  their  contem 
poraries,  and  committed  many  of  them  to  memory  for  deliv 
ery  at  spelling-schools,  exhibitions,  the  regular  rhetorical 
exercises  of  the  schools  he  attended,  or  for  any  other  occa 
sions  that  might  arise.  For  several  years  before  leaving  his 
father's  roof  in  Moretown,  he  preserved  all  the  speeches 
made  in  congress,  reading  and  re-reading  them  to  his  father 
and  grandfather.  The  latter  pointed  out  and  dwelt  upon 
their  eloquent  passages  and  clear  statements  of  principles, 
which  thus  became  fastened  upon  the  lad's  memory  for  all 
time.  When  he  left  home  a  chest  in  his  room  was  found  to 
contain  hundreds  of  those  orations  and  addresses,  carefully 
arranged  and  marked.  They  were  preserved  by  the  family 
for  some  years,  but  finally  the  mice  found  a  way  into  the  box 
and  devoured  them  for  food,  or  reduced  them  to  tatters  for 
nests. 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  characteristic  of  Carpenter's 
childhood  was  that  he  always  had  a  little  ready  money  in  his 
pocket.  How  or  where  it  was  obtained  his  father  never 


CHILDHOOD.  33 

knew,  and  for  years  related  the  fact  as  one  of  the  mysteries 
of  the  neighborhood.  Whence  the  money  came  that  bought 
the  liquor  for  Johnny  Eagan,  the  elder  Carpenter  had  no 
knowledge,  nor  how  Merritt  found  the  wherewith  to  pur 
chase  the  books  that  from  time  to  time  were  found  in  his 
possession.  The  secret,  however,  cguld  have  been  explained 
by  the  proud  old  grandfather,  who  would  forego  any  lux 
ury,  or,  if  necessary,  any  ordinary  necessity,  that  his  favorite 
might  buy  books.  Other  relatives  were  also  in  the  habit  of 
bestowing  small  sums  of  money  upon  the  boy,  which,  instead 
of  going  for  tobacco,  sweetmeats  or  rubbish  of  any  sort, 
were  treasured  until  their  aggregate  would  procure  some 
coveted  volume. 

In  More  town,  because  of  his  thorough  aversion  for  manual 
labor,  Merritt's  reputation  was  that  of  being  "lazy,  but 
smart,"  and  the  steady  people  of  that  section  regarded  with 
wonder  the  prodigious  achievements  of  his  after-life  —  most 
of  them  due  alone  to  application  and  industry,  which  they 
thought  he  had  not,  rather  than  to  "  smartness,"  which  they 
knew  he  had. 
3 


34  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

CHAPTER  II. 

AT  PAUL  DILLINGHAM'S. 

During  Carpenter's  boyhood  the  attorney  who  enjoyed 
the  largest  practice  at  Moretown  and  in  the  Mad  river 
valley  was  Paul  Dillingham,  subsequently  governor  of  Ver 
mont  and  representative  in  congress,  who  then  resided  and 
still  resides  at  Waterbury,  in  the  same  county.  For  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century  Carpenter's  father,  in  discharg 
ing  the  duties  of  his  offices,  was  frequently  thrown  in  contact 
with  the  attorneys  doing  business  in  that  vicinity,  and  thus 
became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Dillingham,  a  man  of  the  most 
genial  and  cordial  manners  and  successful  business  methods. 
Subsequently,  closer  business  relations  grew  into  a  warm 
and  life-long  friendship,  and  Ira  Carpenter's  house  became 
Dillingham's  habitual  stopping-place  in  Moretown. 

During  these  frequent  and  informal  visits,  little  Merritt's 
beauty  and  brightness  attracted  Dillingham's  attention,  and 
in  due  time  the  courtly  attorney  and  the  affectionate  lad  had 
really  fallen  in  love  with  each  other.  Merritt  frequently  rode 
short  distances  in  Dillingham's  carriage,  and  on  days  when 
the  attorney  was  expected  in  Moretown,  sat  on  the  fence, 
eagerly  watching  for  the  appearance  of  the  well-known 
Waterbury  turn-out.  Thoroughly  in  love  with  his  profession, 
and  regarding  Merritt  as  a  child  of  exceeding  promise,  Dil 
lingham  proposed  that,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  the  boy 
should  go  and  live  with  him  and  learn  the  law.  Merritt  re 
plied  that  he  would,  though  Dillingham  regarded  the  prompt 
affirmative  simply  as  an  honest  expression  of  affection, 
which  would  be  forgotten  amidst  the  new  ideas  and  ambi 
tions  of  advancing  youth.  In  that  he  was  wholly  mistaken, 
for,  taking  his  genial  friend  as  an  admired  example,  Merritt 
concluded  that  nothing  could  equal  the  law  in  producing  re 
spectability,  success  and  fine  manners.  He  therefore  deter- 


35 

mined  to  become  a  lawyer  —  a  resolution  which,  he  declared 
in  later  years,  he  never  ceased  for  a  moment  to  entertain, 
although  but  six  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  receiving  the 
promise  that,  at  fourteen,  he  should  enter  the  office  at 
Waterbury,  and  be  put  in  training.  Thus,  in  the  boy's  mind, 
the  whole  matter  was  settled.  Discovering,  however,  soon 
after  his  father's  second  marriage,  that  he  was  not  getting 
on  as  amiably  with  the  step-mother  as  he  had  with  his  own 
mother,  he  became  more  eager  than  ever  for  the  time  to 
arrive  when  he  could  go  to  claim  the  fulfillment  of  the  prom 
ise,  which,  although  made  in  good  faith,  Dillingham  had 
forgotten.  One  November  evening,  some  weeks  before  the 
arrival  of  the  long-looked-for  fourteenth  birthday,  Merritt, 
while  discussing  the  near  opening  of  the  wrinter  term  of 
school,  announced  that  he  was  "done  with  Moretown  teach 
ers."  In  response  to  his  father's  inquiry,  he  replied  that  he 
"  knew  more  than  the  teachers ; "  they  couldn't  teach  him 
anything  in  the  least  of  his  studies,  and  he  was  going  to 
Waterbury  to  enter  Paul  Dillingham's  law  office. 

Mr.  Carpenter  interposed  no  objection,  for  he  thought 
Merritt  would  be  "  homesick  "  and  ready  to  return  home  and 
to  school  at  the  end  of  three  or  four  days,  or  a  week,  at  the 
utmost,  and  that  the  experience  would  prove  beneficial. 

A  few  sentences  may  now  be  quoted  from  "  The  Vermont 
Historical  Gazetteer,"  the  facts  for  which  compilation,  so  far 
as  they  concern  Carpenter,  came  directly  from  Dillingham. 
It  relates: 

On  the  occasion  of  a  certain  trip  to  Moretown,  while  passing  over  the 
height  of  land  midway  between  the  latter  village  and  Waterbury,  Mr.  Dil 
lingham  was  surprised  to  meet  young  Carpenter,  then  a  lad  of  fourteen, 
trudging  along  on  foot,l  with  all  his  worldly  effects  in  a  small  bundle. 

1  In  this  Dillingham  is  incorrectly  quoted.  Merritt  went  on  horseback 
to  Waterbury  to  learn  whether  the  cherished  promise  was  to  be  fulfilled, 
and  thus  mounted  met  Mr.  Dillingham  on  the  road.  Having  arrived  in 
Waterbury  and  made  friends  with  Mrs.  Dillingham,  he  awaited  her  hus 
band's  return.  Well  pleased  with  his  wife's  reception  of  the  boy,  the  at 
torney  told  Merritt  to  draft  a  writ,  which  he  did  with  precision  as  to  spelling 


36  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

When  asked  where  he  was  going,  the  boy  replied,  "  To  Waterbury,  to  live 
with  you  and  be  a  lawyer."  'Squire  Dillingham,  as  he  was  then  popularly 
called,  finding  his  former  proposals  thus  unexpectedly  accepted,  directed 
the  lad  to  go  ahead,  report  to  Mrs.  Dillingham  and  await  his  return  at 
night.  Mrs.  Dillingham  was  greatly  pleased  with  her  youthful  visitor, 
who  made  such  good  use  of  his  undeveloped  arts  as  an  advocate,  that,  when 
Mr.  Dillingham  returned,  he  found  an  entente  cordiale  had  already  been  es 
tablished  between  his  wife  and  the  boy.  And  this  is  how  young  Carpenter 
became  a  protege^  though  never  a  formally  adopted  son,  of  Hon.  Paul  Dil 
lingham,  whose  house  thereafter  was  the  only  home  he  had  until  he  en 
tered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  and  made  one  for  himself  in  the 
west. 

The  change  thus  recorded,  though  the  boy  left  a  proud 
and  indulgent  father,  was  in  every  way  a  fortunate  one  for 
the  embryo  lawyer.  The  estate  of  Mr.  Dillingham  is  amid 
some  of  the  finest  of  Vermont  scenery.  Close  to  Mount 
Mansfield,  in  one  of  those  fertile  nooks  that  hide  themselves 
under  the  shadow  of  the  mighty  hills,  is  his  shaded  and 
sunny  home,  ample  as  his  heart,  where  he  has  dwelt  in 
modest  honor  and  abundant  hospitality  for  many  years. 
These  more  liberal  and  cultivated  surroundings  at  once  pro 
duced  a  favorable  effect  upon  young  Carpenter's  mind  and 
broadened  his  view  of  the  world  and  of  his  own  future. 
He  was  sent  to  the  more  advanced  and  progressive  schools 
of  Waterbury,  where  the  rivalry  of  older  scholars  and  the 
spur  of  his  growing  ambition  urged  him  on  in  his  studies  at 
an  astonishing  rate.  He  did  not  miss  a  term  for  four  years, 
and  was  absent  from  his  classes  only  on  a  very  few  occasions 
in  which  necessity  made  his  presence  impossible. 

Even  at  that  period  of  his  life,  although  he  had  not  been 
honored  as  he  was  subsequently  by  the  people  of  Vermont, 
Dillingham  was  a  man  of  influence  and  high  standing,  whose 
personal  acquaintances  included  all  the  leading  men  of  the 
state,  many  of  whom  were  more  or  less  frequent  visitors  at 

as  well  as  legal  form.  He  was  then  told  he  could  come  and  at  once  begin 
attending  the  high  school.  He  returned  home  on  the  following  day,  and 
two  days  later  was  taken  by  his  father  in  a  sleigh,  called  a  "jumper,"  to  his 
new  residence. 


AT  PAUL  DILLINGHAM'S.  37 

his  house.  Thus  brought  in  contact  with  the  moving  spirits  of 
the  time,  an  unmistakable  suasion  was  exerted  upon  young 
Carpenter,  confirming  his  ambitions,  and  giving  him  an  early 
insight  into  public  life  just  as  it  was.  His  mind,  always  a 
perfect  absorbent,  made  the  most  of  all  opportunities,  treas 
uring  the  anecdotes,  the  political  events  and  the  general  in 
formation  thus  obtained  as  eagerly  as  a  miser  hoards  his 
gold.  Thus  the  better  schools,  Mr.  Dillingham's  large  li 
brary,  and  frequent  association  with  distinguished  personages 
which  he  enjoyed  at  Waterbury,  afforded  opportunities  for 
advancement  and  development  the  youth  could  not  have  had 
in  his  own  home,  and  which  undoubtedly  gave  bent  and  in 
clination  to  his  subsequent  career.  His  record  in  school  as 
to  advancement  and  deportment  was  without  equal  in 
Waterbury,  and  his  rapid  acquirement  of  general  informa 
tion  during  vacations  was  equally  remarkable. 

In  a  very  few  months  after  taking  up  his  abode  at  Dilling 
ham's,  as  the  richer  fields  of  literature  were  opened  to  him,  the 
young  student  became  more  completely  than  ever  enamored 
of  books.  He  pursued  his  legal  studies  with  avidity  during 
holidays,  interims  and  evenings,  taking  intense  delight  in  the 
fundamental  principles  governing  justice  and  equity,  and  in 
the  decisions  and  arguments  of  the  profoundest  jurists  of  the 
age.  But  his  mind  was  searching  as  well  in  all  directions 
outside  of  the  law  for  the  fountains  of  knowledge,  and  he  de 
voured  the  works  of  general  literature  with  such  rapidity, 
and  yet  with  such  a  clear  understanding,  as  to  astonish  all  his 
friends,  not  excepting  his  tutor.  In  this  manner  passed  the 
first  four  and  one-half  years  of  Carpenter's  residence  with 
Mr.  Dillingham,  without  the  occurrence  of  any  incident  worth 
recording,  except  that  before  the  expiration  of  that  time  he 
was  frequently  intrusted  by  his  foster-father  with  the  prep 
aration  of  complaints,  drafts  of  preliminary  proceedings,  gen 
eral  office  and,  during  the  last  year,  justice  court  business. 
At  the  age  of  eighteen,  before  entering  the  military  acad 
emy,  Merritt  Carpenter's  thoroughness  in  searching  out  and 


3  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

arranging  all  existing  confirmatory  authorities  and  decisions 
on  any  given  question  had  become  a  matter  of  common  re 
mark  among  the  attorneys  of  Washington  county,  and  Mr. 
Dillingham  never  hesitated  to  trust  him  implicitly  in  such 
labors,  knowing  they  could  not  be  in  better  hands. 

In  a  letter  written  at  Waterbury  in  January,  1883,  Mr. 
Dillingham  makes  reference  to  Carpenter's  youth: 

Merritt  came  to  our  house  and  family  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years  —  no 
mistake  about  thaU  I  have  a  distinct  recollection  that  when  he  was  about 
six  years  of  age  I  told  him  to  be  a  good  boy  at  home,  go  to  school  con 
stantly  and  be  the  best  pupil  there,  and  when  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age 
come  to  my  house  and  live  with  me,  and  I  would  make  a  lawyer  of  him. 
I  forgot  the  promise,  but  he  did  not,  and  shortly  before  his  fourteenth 
birthday  (with  nothing  having  been  said  about  it  in  the  meantime)  he 
made  his  appearance,  as  told  in  public  prints.  Then  the  old  promise  came 
fresh  to  my  mind,  and  I  admired  the  boy's  memory  and  trust.  It  was  then 
and  thereafter  his  one  wish  to  become  a  lawyer,  and  a  great  lawyer ;  and 
he  looked  through  every  difficulty  in  his  way  with  a  certain  confidence 
that  it  would  be  accomplished.  From  this,  my  bargain  with  him,  he  at 
tended  the  village  school  in  Moretown  constantly,  and  had  learned  all  he 
could  be  taught  by  his  instructors  there. 

When  he  came  to  me  we  talked  the  future  over  together,  and  I  advised 
that  he  attend  our  graded  school  until  he  should  arrive  at  the  age  of  eight 
een,  when  I  would  try  my  best  to  get  him  a  cadetship  at  West  Point.  In 
the  four  years  that  ensued  he  attended  our  school  at  all  its  terms,  and  the 
residue  of  the  time  he  was  in  my  office,  and  he  was  nowhere  so  happy  as 
there.  He  did  everything  I  wanted  done  when  at  home,  and  when  I  was 
absent  he  ran  the  office  so  far  as  justice  business  was  concerned. 

I  did  not  call  him  a  law-student,  but  I  found  that  he  had  thoroughly  ac 
quainted  himself  with  the  elementary  principles  of  the  law  before  he  went 
to  West  Point  in  1843. 

After  being  at  West  Point  two  years  he  came  home  on  sick-leave;  and 
partly  on  account  of  his  health,  and  partly  on  account  of  his  ambition  to 
become  a  lawyer,  he  resigned  his  cadetship  in  August,  1845.  From  this 
time  until  November  i,  1847,  he  was  a  most  faithful  and  progressive  stu 
dent  in  my  office.  At  the  November  term  of  our  court  in  that  year,  on 
my  motion  and  recommendation,  he  was  admitted  as  an  attorney,  Chief 
Justice  Redfield  expressing  gratification  at  his  legal  attainments  and  bright 
prospects  of  professional  success. 

1  This  emphasis  arose  from  the  numerous  contradictory  reports  on  this 
point  which  had  found  their  way  into  print  and  into  popular  circulation. 


TWO   YEARS   AT    WEST   POINT.  39 

This  was  done  on  the  first  day  of  the  first  week  of  the  session.  In  two  or 
three  days  after,  Merritt  left  to  go  to  Boston,  there  to  finish  his  preparations 
for, a  professional  life.  At  Boston  he  entered  the  office,  and,  after  a  time, 
the  family,  of  Rufus  Choate,  who  then  stood  on  the  pinnacle  of  profes 
sional  fame.  He  remained  there  until  about  June,  1848.  During  this  time 
he  was  admitted  to  the  superior-court  and  the  supreme  court  of  Massa 
chusetts.  He  then  left  for  the  west,  as  it  was  then  called,  his  objective 
point  being  Beloit,  Wisconsin,  where  he  settled  and  opened  an  office. 

TWO  YEARS  AT  WEST  POINT. 

The  recorded  history  of  Carpenter's  career  in  the  United 
States  Military  Academy  at  West  Point  is  of  a  meager  and 
formal  character.  He  received  his  appointment  through 
Congressman  John  Mattocks,  of  Vermont,  a  confidential 
friend  of  Paul  Dillingham.  He  was  admitted  to  that  rigid 
school  of  thorough  physical  and  mental  training,  with  a  class 
of  fifty-two l  others,  July  i,  1843.  In  those  days  it  was  con 
sidered  that  a  course  at  West  Point  carried  with  it  no  small 
degree  of  honor,  and  placed  upon  the  graduate  the  seal  of 
semi-aristocracy.  But  the  academy,  viewed  from  the  fresh 
green  hills  of  Vermont,  presented  more  fascinations  to  the 
youth  than  after  he  had  descended  the  Hudson  and  could 
observe  its  unbending  discipline  and  well-defined  class-castes 
from  the  close  walls  of  the  dormitory  or  section-room.  It 
can  not  be  positively  stated  that  he  entered  the  school  fully 
intending  to  devote  his  life  to  the  army.  If  he  did,  his  ideas 

l Julian  McAllister,  John  C.  Symmes,  Daniel  T.  Van  Buren,  Daniel 
Beltzhoover,  John  Hamilton,  Orlando  B.  Wilcox,  Joseph  J.  Woods,  John 
H.  Dickerson,  Samuel  Chalfin,  George  Patten,  Lewis  C.  Hunt,  John  S. 
Mason,  Geo.  W.  Hazzard,  Richard  H.  Long,  H.  B.  Hendershott,  John  M. 
Hockaday,  Otis  H.  Tillinghast,  Romeyn  B.  Ayres,  Mark  W.  Collett, 
Thomas  H.  Neill,  Horatio  G.  Gibson,  Charles  Griffin,  James  R.  Darra- 
cott,  Egbert  L.  Viele,  Augustus  H.  Seward,  E.  F.  Abbott,  P.  W.  L.  Plymp- 
ton,  James  B.  Fry,  Caleb  R.  Layton,  Ambrose  E.  Burnside,  Geo.  C.  Barber, 
Edward  D.  Blake,  Joseph  S.  Totten,  Daniel  Huston,  Jr.,  Andrew  Gil- 
braith  Miller,  Wm.  H.  Hill,  Henry  Heth,  Tredwell  Moore,  John  de  Russj, 
Thomas  A.  Harris,  John  Bonnvcastle,  J.  C.  P.  Smith,  Washington  P. 
Street,  C.  K.  K.  Ellis,  Geo.  H.  Paige,  J.  B.  Hogan,  Jr.,  John  L.  Gamble, 
R.  W.  Jones,  Henry  B.  Ware,  T.  O.  Barry,  Chas.  F.  Reed,  and  Walter  S. 
Clark. 


40  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

underwent  a  marked  change  in  the  course  of  a  year.  Dur 
ing  his  second  furlough  home,  after  having  carefully  looked 
into  the  future  of  the  average  cadet,  he  imitated  the  military 
step  and  posture,  and  half -humorously,  half-sarcastically,  ex 
plained:  "I  don't  believe  a  man  can  ever  become  great  by 
learning  to  walk  a  crack  with  a  stiff  neck  and  his  fingers  on 
the  seams  of  his  pantaloons!" 

The  highest  honors  and  emoluments  of  a  military  life  were 
down  in  the  books,  he  explained,  and  if  he  should  ever  attain 
them,  the  public  would  simply  understand  that  he  had  faith 
fully  worn  a  regulation  uniform  the  required  number  of 
years,  and  was  being  rewarded  for  it  according  to  law. 
There  was  small  honor  in  that,  he  declared,  and  he  "  would 
rather  be  somebody  as  the  result  of  his  own  efforts,  upon  the 
merit  of  individual  achievements."  Nevertheless,  he  con 
tinued  in  the  academy  during  another  year,  half-intending  to 
graduate,  believing  the  mental  discipline  thus  to  be  obtained 
would  be  beneficial  in  after  life.  The  close  confinement  of  a 
cadet,  however,  was  not  only  irksome  to  his  spirit  but  injuri 
ous  to  his  health,  and  in  August,  1845,  while  at  home  on  a  fur 
lough  on  account  of  illness,  he  resigned.  While  he  made  as 
an  excuse  for  this  course  the  unfavorable  effect  confinement 
had  upon  his  physical  condition,  it  is  believed  his  heart  was 
in  the  resignation.  He  had  determined  to  become  as  great 
a  lawyer  as  Daniel  Webster  or  Rufus  Choate,  both  then  in 
the  zenith  of  their  professional  glory,  and  longed  to  return  to 
the  fragrant  paths  leading  in  that  direction. 

It  was  undoubtedly  the  highest  of  good  fortune  that  Car 
penter  left  the  military  academy,  for  to  have  finished  the 
prescribed  course  might  have  thrown  him  into  a  fatal  con 
sumption;  indeed,  at  the  time  he  was  granted  the  short  fur 
lough  which  he  soon  after  made  permanent  by  resignation,  his 
condition  was  such  as  to  excite  the  gravest  apprehensions. 
One  of  his  classmates,  General  Daniel  T.  Van  Buren,  says 
the  general  supposition  was  that  "  he  had  gone  home  to  die." 
The  very  least  that  can  be  said,  if  Carpenter's  resignation 


TWO    YEARS   AT    WEST   POINT.  4! 

did  not  save  him  from  an  early  grave,  is  that,  through  his 
own  philosophy  and  foresight,  the  military  academy  was  not 
permitted  to  spoil  one  of  the  very  greatest  lawyers  and 
orators  of  the  Union  for  the  sake  of  turning  out  an  ordinary 
post-commander. 

The  record  of  Carpenter's  sojourn  at  West  Point  is  as  fol 
lows,  taken  from  the  books  of  the  institution,  and  attested  by 
the  superintendent: 

DECATUR  M.  H.  CARPENTER, 

Name  afterwards  changed  to 
MATT.  H.  CARPENTER.I 

Admitted  July  i,  1843  —  aged  18  years,  6  months. 

Born  in  Vermont. 

Residence,  Waterbury,  Washington  Co.,  Vt. 

Father,  Ira  Carpenter,  Moretown,  Washington  Co.,  Vt 

June,  1844  —  4th  Class. 

Was  in  Mathematics •.   17  ~] 

"      French 14   j-  Class  of  53  members. 

"       General  merit nj 

June,  1845 — 3d  Class. 

Was  in  Mathematics 16^) 

««      French 4   j 

**      English  Grammar,  etc.  .11}-  Class  of  44  members. 

"       Drawing 34    j 

44      General  merit 10  J 

Resigned  August  21,  1845. 

Member  of  the  Board  of  Visitors  in  1871  from  U.  S.  Senate. 

This  record  will  bear  some  explanation.  The  fourth  class 
is  composed  of  those  passing  their  first  year;  the  third  class 
of  those  in  the  second  year,  and  so  on.  And  further:  "  general 
merit,  eleven,"  in  the  fourth  class,  means  that  out  of  a  class 
of  fifty-three  members  there  were  ten  who  averaged  higher 
and  forty-two  lower  than  Carpenter  in  their  studies  and 
general  progress  and  conduct.  In  his  second  year,  or  third 

l.This  is  not  intended  to  indicate  that  Carpenter  changed  his  name  while 
in  the  academy,  but  the  change  he  made  in  later  years  was  thus  recorded 
upon  the  books  of  the  institution  to  show  that  D.  M.  H.  and  Matt.  II. 
Carpenter  were  not  different  individuals. 


42  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

class,  he  stood  unusually  high  —  except  in  drawing,  which 
had  no  charms  whatever  for  him  —  for  one  not  in  love  with 
the  military  profession.  Several  members  of  the  class  had 
studied  French  much  longer  than  Carpenter,  and  three  of 
them  therefore  stood  technically  higher  ;  but  none  of  them 
progressed  so  rapidly  or  spoke  the  language  with  such 
beauty  and  fluency.  Some  of  his  living  classmates,  in  reply 
to  letters  of  inquiry  concerning  his  military  tutelage,  give  a 
clear  idea  of  the  tall  and  handsome  but  sensitive  Green 
Mountain  boy  of  that  day.  Thus  General  Wilcox: 

MADISON  BARRACKS,  SACKETT'S  HARBOR,  Oct.  29,  1883. 
DEAR  SIR  :  —  In  reply  to  yours  of  7th,  I  am  glad  to  give  you  a  good 
account  of  Matt.  H.  Carpenter's  career  at  West  Point.  Though  brief,  it 
was  brilliant.  He  stood  high  in  his  academic  studies,  was  very  unassum 
ing,  but  an  indefatigable,  industrious,  conscientious  and  energetic  student 
and  soldier.  With  many  disadvantages  against  him,  he  pushed  his  way  up 
among  the  head  men  of  the  class  the  first  year,  much  to  the  surprise  of 
more  pretentious  and  self-asserting  fellows.  His  mind  was  of  a  religious 
cast,  and  he  developed  but  little  of  that  bonhomie  which  so  eminently  char 
acterized  him  as  a  man.  On  the  contrary,  he  was  outwardly  shy  and  retir 
ing  rather  than  forward  in  his  class  and  social  deportment;  but  inwardly 
there  burned  the  fire  of  a  Bayard.  Why  and  how  he  ever  became  a  politi 
cian,  I  never  knew,  and  I  look  forward  with  the  greatest  interest  to  the  dis 
covery  in  his  forthcoming  Life.  O.  B.  WILCOX, 

Brev.  Maj.  Gen. 

Thus  General  Van  Buren: 

KINGSTON,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  29,  1883. 

DEAR  SIR:  —  In  answer  to  yours  of  this  month,  I  regret  to  say  that  my 
recollections  of  the  late  Matt.  H.  Carpenter,  whilst  he  was  a  cadet,  are  very 
meagre.  » 

In  personal  appearance,  he  was  tall,  thin  and  angular,  stoop-shouldered,! 
as  if  he  had  grown  up  too  fast,  with  a  fair,  rosy,  flushed  face,  and  large, 
prominent  nose. 

He  was  very  studious,  —  a  better  scholar  than  soldier.  His  conduct  was 
excellent;  I  do  not  think  that  he  ever  walked  a  "Saturday  afternoon 
extra." 

He  stood  well  in  his  class,  somewhere  above  the  middle  of  it,  and  resigned 
at  the  close  of  his  second  year  on  account  of  ill  health.  It  was  generally 


leaving  the  academy,  Carpenter  showed  no  sign  of  having  ever  been 
as  stoop-shouldered  as  his  classmates  describe  him.  He  was  just  six  feet 
in  height,  straight,  and  of  almost  absolutely  perfect  figure. 


TWO   YEARS   AT   WEST   POINT.  43 

understood  that  he  was  going  home  to  die,  his  appearance  indicating  con 
sumption  well  advanced.  Indeed,  I  had  supposed  he  was  dead  until  he 
appeared  as  a  conspicuous  war  orator  and  in  the  senate  of  the  United 
States.  Respectfully, 

DANIEL  T.  VAN  BUREN. 

General  H.  G.  Gibson,  of  Fort  McHenry,  Baltimore,  says 
"the  most  prominent  recollection  he  has  of  his  classmate  at 
West  Point,  the  late  Senator  Carpenter,  is  the  fact  of  having 
sat  beside  him  for  a  year  in  the  section-room ;  that  he  did 
not  possess  a  very  strong  desire  for  a  military  career,  and 
that,  although  standing  high  in  his  class  and  in  discipline,  he 
resigned  with  plain  demonstrations  of  pleasure." 

Notwithstanding  his  well-marked  dislike  for  military  af 
fairs,  all  accounts  agree  that  Carpenter's  career  at  West 
Point  was  really  one  of  great  promise.  He  was  made  "  color 
corporal,"  a  post  of  considerable  honor  among  cadetmen. 
Gen.  W.  Merritt,  superintendent  of  the  military  academy, 
says:  "The  color  corporal  here  is  selected  from  among  the 
corporals  of  his  class  for  his  military  bearing  and  neatness  of 
dress  and  person.  It  is  an  honorable  distinction  among 
cadets.  These  corporals  guard  the  colors  while  in  ranks." 

After  accepting  his  resignation,  the  superintendent  of  the 
academy  sent  to  Carpenter  a  "certificate  of  proficiency," 
mentioning  these  branches: 

In  the  Department  of  Mathematics. —  In  algebra,  geometry  and  trigo 
nometry,  descriptive  geometry,  shades,  shadows  and  perspective,  spherical 
projections  and  warped  surfaces,  surveying,  analytical  geometry,  and  cal 
culus. 

In  the  Department  of  French. —  In  French  grammar,  Lecons  Francaise, 
and  Voyages  du  Jean  Anachaisis. 

In  the  Department  of  Drarving. —  Topography  and  the  human  figure. 

In  the  Department  of  English  Grammar,  etc. —  Bullion's  grammai',  Wil- 
lett's  geography. 

In  the  Department  of  Artillery  and  Cavalry. —  In  receiving  practical 
instruction  in  the  school  of  the  piece  and  battery. 

In  the  senate,  Carpenter  frequently  referred  to  his  sojourn 
at  West  Point,  and  while  sitting  in  that  body  always  partici 
pated  actively  and  intelligently  in  whatever  was  intended  to 


44  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

promote  the  welfare  or  usefulness  of  the  institution.  As  a 
member  of  the  board  of  visitors  in  1871,  he  made  a  thorough 
examination  of  the  condition  of  the  academy,  and  as  chair 
man  of  the  committee  on  discipline,  prosecuted  an  exhaustive 
investigation.  He  composed  the  chapter  on,  discipline  in  the 
report  made  to  the  secretary  of  war  for  the  information  of 
congress,  from  which  an  interesting  excerpt  may  be  brought 
forward.  After  expressing  in  general  terms  the  fact  that  the 
discipline  was  less  strict  than  formerly,  he  wrote: 

Twenty-five  years  ago  West  Point  was  substantially  separate  from  the 
outside  world;  for  several  months  of  the  year  a  mail  was  not  received 
oftener  than  once  in  three  or  four  days.  The  presence  of  visitors  was 
almost  wholly  unknown,  and  the  officers  and  cadets  formed  a  community 
by  and  of  themselves.  The  relations  existing  between  the  officers  and 
cadets  was  like  that  at  present  existing  between  the  officers  and  soldiers  at 
a  military  post.  Cadets  were  permitted  to  visit  at  the  quarters  of  professors 
and  officers  on  Saturday  afternoons,  and  at  no  other  time.  But  so  reserved 
were  the  manners  of  officers,  even  on  such  occasions,  that  the  privilege, 
though  recognized,  was  very  rarely  exercised.  There  was  substantially  no 
social  intercourse  between  the  officers  and  the  cadets.  In  those  days,  too, 
the  rigor  of  discipline  put  all  cadets,  the  sons  of  the  rich  and  the  sons  of  the 
poor,  upon  a  common  footing.  The  regulations  not  only  prohibited  any 
cadet  from  receiving  money  from  his  parents  and  friends,  but  no  place 
existed,  or  was  permitted  to  exist,  on  the  limits,  where  cadets  could  expend 
money.  Occasionally  a  cadet  was  allowed  to  purchase  what  he  pleased 
under  the  head  of  "  sundries,"  not  exceeding  one  dollar  in  amount,  and  that 
only  on  the  order  ot  an  officer  in  charge. 

But  all  this  has  changed.  West  Point  is  now,  or  fast  becoming,  a  place 
of  fashionable  resort.  Hotels  have  been  erected  in  near  proximity  to  the 
post,  and  hundreds  of  visitors  now  repair  thither  where  one  did  in  former 
years.  This  influx  of  fashionable  life  has  caused  a  relaxation  of  the  rules 
in  regard  to  cadets  visiting.  The  great  distance  between  officers  and  cadets 
has  been  gradually  diminished.  Cadets  of  the  first  class  may  now  visit 
officers  every  day  in  the  week,  and  officers  and  cadets  associate  together 
with  a  freedom  of  intercourse  not  formerly  known.  Insensibly  the  stand 
ard  of  discipline  has  been  lowered,  until  the  academy  has  less  than  formerly 
the  character  of  the  regular  army,  and  more  the  features  of  a  militia  estab 
lishment,  where  officers  and  men  are  separated  while  on  duty,  but  mingle 
in  social  intercourse  when  the  hour  of  drill  or  parade  has  passed. 

Although  the  regulation  in  regard  to  cadets  receiving  money  remains 
unchanged,  yet,  at  present,  a  new  functionary,  known  as  the  "cadet  con- 


45 

fectioner,"  is  allowed  to  keep  open  on  cadet  limits  a  place  of  resort  which 
cadets  are  known  to  frequent  daily  to  enjoy  the  table,  and  where  they  may 
treat  their  fellows  without  stint  or  limit.  Thus,  one  of  the  elements  of 
equality  which  formerly  existed  among  the  cadets  is  destroyed,  and  the  son 
of  a  wealthy  man  may  fare  sumptuously,  while  the  poor  boy  must  confine 
himself  to  such  food  as  the  mess-hall  affords. 

He  closed  the  chapter  with  the  declaration  that  "an  army 
must  be  governed  by  different  methods  and  upon  different 
principles  from  a  civil  society,  and  to  an  army  and  to  every 
military  establishment  discipline  is  a  necessity."  In  addition 
to  this,  Carpenter  made  an  enlarged  and  separate  report, 
which  included  the  testimony  adduced  by  his  committee. 

During  a  speech  on  the  salary  bill,  delivered  March  I, 
1873,  Carpenter  thus  made  reference  to  his  military  tutelage: 

The  most  perfect  equality  between  the  sons  of  the  rich  and  the  sons  of 
the  poor  that  I  ever  saw  was  in  the  military  academy  at  West  Point 
twenty-five  years  ago.  The  pay  of  every  cadet  was  the  same,  and  no  cadet 
was  allowed  to  receive  a  cent  from  any  relative  or  source  whatever  except 
the  government.  He  was  credited  with  his  pay  and  charged  with  the 
things  he  was  permitted  to  buy.  I  was  there  two  years,  and  the  only  cent 
of  money  I  saw  during  that  time  was  a  ten-cent  piece  that  I  picked  up  on 
the  pavement  one  morning.  As  I  could  not  spend  it,  I  threw  it  into  my 
trunk,  and  it  remained  there  till  I  went  on  furlough.  The  result  of  that 
system  was  that  merit,  industry,  brains  alone  determined  the  standing  of  a 
cadet.  And  not  unfrequently  the  cadet  who  graduated  at  the  head  of  his 
class  was  the  son  of  a  poor  and  obscure  man. 

As  long  as  he  lived  Carpenter  never  ceased  to  observe  the 
good  effects  of  West  Point.  The  discipline  strengthened  his 
mind,  and  the  knowledge  of  military  affairs  obtained  there 
was  of  value  during  the  Rebellion,  in  congress,  and  in  the 

courts. 

AGAIN  AT  DILLINGHAM'S. 

On  returning  to  Dillingham's  from  West  Point,  Carpenter 
devoted  himself  to  the  law  with  greater  enthusiasm  and  per 
sistency  than  ever.  The  steady  confinement  which  he  thus 
imposed  upon  himself  prevented  him  from  growing  as  strong 
and  robust  as  nature  had  designed;  nevertheless,  his  general 
health  having  become  good  soon  after  resigning  the  cadet- 


46  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

ship,  so  continued  during  his  subsequent  period  of  study. 
His  condition  on  his  return,  however,  was  a  matter  of  con 
siderable  apprehension  among  his  friends.  He  was  pale  and 
slim  —  so  thin,  in  fact,  that  his  father  related  he  could  easily 
compass  the  youth's  waist  with  his  thumbs  and  middle 
fingers.  The  return  to  mountain  air  and  outdoor  freedom 
undoubtedly  saved  Carpenter's  life. 

The  two  years  following  the  abandonment  of  West  Point 
may  be  said  to  have  been  uneventful.  In  addition  to  his  close 
application  to  the  law  and  general  literature,  he  made  a  study 
of  orators  and  oratory,  and  attended  the  meetings  of  a  local 
literary  club,  always  participating  in  its  debates,  and  rarely 
failing  to  win  his  side  of  the  case,  no  matter  whether  it  was 
right  or  wrong.  He  thus  earned  a  reputation  for  close  and 
eloquent  reasoning  as  well  as  for  thorough  study  and  re 
search.  So  far  had  this  reputation  extended,  that  during 
Dillingham's  absence  in  congress  Carpenter  was  invited  to 
go  some  distance  from  Waterbury  to  a  secluded  neighbor 
hood  and  speak  at  the  usual  religious  revival  inaugurated 
for  the  long  winter  months.  Thinking  it  a  fair  opportunity 
to  further  test  and  strengthen  his  powers  as  a  public  speaker, 
the  invitation  was  accepted.  For  almost  a  week,  without 
the  knowledge  of  any  one  in  Waterbury,  accompanied  by  a 
bright  and  mischievous  young  law-student  named  Demmon, 
Carpenter  drove  daily  to  the  scene  of  the  revival,  and  there, 
during  the  evenings,  expounded  the  Bible  and  enlarged  upon 
Christian  ethics.  The  regularity  of  his  absence  and  the 
lateness  of  his  return  aroused  the  curiosity  of  members  of 
the  family,  who  raised  inquiries  for  discovering  why  and 
whither  he  went.  Thereupon  the  revival  business  was 
brought  to  a  sudden  close.  Those  ,who  were  listeners  on 
that  curious  occasion  reported  that  Carpenter's  ways  were 
very  winning  and  his  speaking  interesting  and  effective. 

In  1847,  having  arrived  at  such  proficiency  as  secured  a 
creditable  admission  to  the  bar,  Carpenter  received  from  Dil- 
lingham  a  generous  proposition  of  partnership  arrangements. 


47 

Although  flattered  by  the  ofler,  he  did  not  accept,  having 
previously  resolved  to  settle  in  the  boundless  and  growing 
west,  where  opportunities  for  advancement  seemed  to  be 
more  numerous  and  promising.  In  order  to  be  fully  pre 
pared  to  make  the  most  of  whatever  the  west  might  ofler, 
he  proposed  to  go  to  Boston  and  serve  an  apprenticeship 
under  Rufus  Choate,  the  unrivaled  jury-lawyer  of  Massa 
chusetts.  Therefore,  two  days  after  being  admitted  to  the 
bar  at  Montpelier,  he  started  for  Boston,  with  Mr.  Dilling- 
ham's  blessing:  "  Merritt,  if  you  shall  pursue  in  the  future 
the  course  which  you  have  thus  far  followed,  you  will  cer 
tainly  become  a  successful  lawyer  and  a  popular  citizen ;  and 
if  you  ever  want  money,  a  friend  or  a  home,  remember  that 
my  purse,  myself  and  my  house  will  be  at  your  service." 

Thus  he  bade  good-bye  to  Waterbury.  The  parting  with 
Mrs.  Dillingham  and  the  children  was  tender  and  affection 
ate,  for  he  did  not  know  whether  he  would  ever  return. 
They  afterward  saw  him  under  different  conditions,  in  the 
early  spring  of  1850,  when  he  arrived  at  the  Dillingham 
homestead  from  the  New  York  Infirmary,  a  black  shade  for 
his  useless  eyes  half-hiding  his  pale  but  cheerful  face.  He 
then  remained  in  Waterbury  several  weeks  before  returning 
permanently  to  Wisconsin. 

Mr.  Dillingham  finally  became  Carpenter's  father-in-law, 
and  at  various  periods  was  associated  with  him  in  carrying 
on  several  of  those  business  enterprises  which  depended 
particularly  upon  legal  proceedings  for  their  outcome.  The 
peculiarly  strong  relations  of  father  and  son,  adviser  and 
friend,  which  subsisted  between  them  for  a  dozen  years  in 
Vermont,  continued  undiminished  and  unbroken  through 


48  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 


CHAPTER  III. 

A  JOURNEY  TO  BOSTON  — RUFUS  CHOATE. 

In  his  earliest  years  of  ambition  Carpenter  was  a  strong 
admirer  of  Daniel  Webster  and  Rufus  Choate,  and  the  great 
esteem  in  which  they  were  held  by  the  public  made  a  deep 
and  lasting  impression  on  his  mind.  He  resolved  to  visit 
both  of  them,  in  order  to  learn  whether  they  were  like  other 
men,  and,  if  possible,  study  in  their  offices  the  methods  and 
secrets  which  had  won  such  lofty  positions  and  such  univer 
sal  public  applause.  Mr.  Dillingham  had  some  acquaintance 
with  Choate,  and  so,  with  letters  of  introduction  from  him 
and  others,  Carpenter  started  for  Boston,  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes'  "  Hub  of  the  Universe,"  in  November,  1847.  The 
journey  was  mostly  accomplished  by  stage,  but  he  entered 
Boston  on  the  first  railroad  built  out  of  that  city,  toward 
Lowell.  That  was  his  first  ride  after  the  "  iron  horse,"  and 
proved  to  be  an  interesting  event.  He  examined  the  coaches, 
tracks  and  locomotives  very  carefully,  and  wrote  to  his  friends 
in  Vermont  that  "  steam  was  so  far  ahead  of  all  other  modes 
of  travel  and  transportation  that  it  was  certain  to  come  into 
general  and  profitable  use."  It  is  superfluous  to  refer  to  the 
extent  to  which  he  saw  that  prediction  fulfilled,  made,  as  it 
was,  when  thousands  were  declaring  that  railways  were  too 
costly  and  too  dangerous  to  ever  become  popular  or  profit 
able. 

After  arriving  in  Boston  he  wandered  about  the  city  for 
some  time  before  finally  discovering  the  modest  sign,  "  R. 
Choate,  Counsellor  at  Law,"  which  hung  in  Court  Square. 
He  glanced  up  at  the  windows  above,  to  see  if  he  could  dis 
cover  any  unusual  face,  such  as  might  belong  to  R.  Choate, 
but  saw  none.  He  therefore  ascended  the  stairs,  and,  upon 
entering,  inquired  if  Choate  was  in.  He  was  not,  the  clerks 
replied,  eying  the  tall  Green  Mountain  boy,  who,  Mr.  Crown- 


FINDING    FAVOR   IN    CHOATE's   EYES.  49 

inshielcl  (Choate's  law  partner)  afterward  said,  "though 
neatly  attired,  was  not  dressed  in  the  latest  Boston  fashion." 
Young  Carpenter  then  inquired  when  the  great  advocate 
would  be  in,  and  received  in  reply  the  query  of  what  business 
he  desired  to  have  with  Choate.  Although  this  rather  lead 
ing  question  was  repeated  several  times  by  the  tantalizing 
clerks,  they  did  not  find  out  what  he  wanted,  but  he  finally 
learned  from  them,  what  they  undoubtedly  did  not  intend  he 
should,  that  Choate  would  be  in  at  three  o'clock  that  afternoon. 
At  that  hour  Carpenter  called  again,  and  after  considerable 
delay  was  shown  into  Choate's  room.  He  found  the  famous 
lawyer  stretched  on  a  sofa,  weary  from  a  hard  day's  work 
in  an  important  trial.  Taking  the  young  stranger  by  the 
hand,  Choate  kindly  asked  what  he  could  do  for  him.  Car 
penter  exhibited  his  letters  of  introduction,  told  who  he  was 
and  what  he  wanted,  and  ended  by  saying  that  he  had  jour 
neyed  from  Vermont  to  enter  the  office  and  study  the  meth 
ods  of  the  greatest  jury-lawyer  in  Massachusetts,  in  order  to 
be  able  to  follow  his  example  and  reap  similar  rewards. 

The  winsome  face,  modest  demeanor,  simple  statements 
and  apparent  ambition  of  young  Carpenter  made  a  favorable 
impression  upon  Choate,  who  called  to  an  attendant  in  an 
adjoining  room  to  know  if  there  was  a  place  for  another 
student.  The  reply  came  back  that  there  was  none.  "  Then," 
said  Choate,  "  I  shall  have  to  give  you  a  place  in  my  private 
office.  You  may  come  to-morrow  morning." 

FINDING  FAVOR  IN  CHOATE'S  EYES. 

A  small  desk  was  ordered  and  placed  in  his  own  private 
room  by  Choate,  with  instructions  to  the  clerks  to  allow 
the  new  student  to  enter  the  office  and  occupy  it.  Ac 
cordingly,  next  morning  bright  and  early  Carpenter  was  at 
his  desk,  greatly  pleased  with  his  success  in  attaining  at  once 
the  very  object  that  had  so  long  been  the  fondest  wish  of  his 
heart.  When  Choate  arrived  he  was  not  a  little  gratified  to 
note  that  Carpenter  had  discovered  some  of  his  most  im- 


50  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

portant  printed  briefs  and  opinions,  and  was  deeply  absorbed 
in  their  perusal,  marking  paragraphs  and  sentences  here  and 
there  on  their  pages.  Before  going  to  court,  Choate  handed 
to  his  new  student  a  letter  from  an  attorney  of  Exeter,  New 
Hampshire,  asking  an  opinion  upon  a  somewhat  intricate 
question  of  law,  and  told  him  to  answer  it.  This  was  doubt 
less  done  more  to  test  Carpenter's  abilities  than  with  any 
idea  that  the  work  would  really  be  satisfactorily  accom 
plished.  Carpenter  worked  diligently  upon  the  complex 
question,  hunting  through  Choate's  fine  library  for  authori 
ties  and  decisions  in  such  a  rapid  and  masterly  manner  as  to 
astonish  all  the  clerks.  When  he  had  satisfied  himself  on  all 
the  points  involved,  he  embodied  the  result  of  his  researches 
in  a  handsomely-written  letter,  stating  the  principles  and  au 
thorities  in  a  clear  and  concise  form,  and  laid  the  document 
on  Choate's  desk.  An  hour  later  Choate  returned  and  found 
the  paper  complete.  He  sat  down  at  once  and  carefully  read 
every  line  of  it,  and  when  he  had  finished  the  last  page, 
pushed  down  his  spectacles,  peered  over  the  sheets,  he  had 
been  reading  and  silently  studied  for  some  moments  the  head 
and  face  of  his  student.  Thoroughly  surprised,  he  could  not 
resist  gratifying  his  desire  to  have  a  quiet  study  of  the  young 
man  who  had  exceeded  all  his  expectations.  He  then  said: 
"Well,  judge,  I  guess  I  can  put  R.  Choate  to  the  end  of 
that  and  tell  that  lawyer  to  send  me  one  hundred  dollars." 

Thereupon  the  startling  scrawl  then  current  in  Boston  as 
the  sign-manual  of  Rufus  Choate  was  affixed,  the  opinion 
was  inclosed  in  a  note,  written  by  Carpenter,  asking  for  a 
fee  of  one  hundred  dollars,  and  sent  to  Exeter.  In  due 
time  the  money  returned,  and  thereafter  Choate  generally 
addressed  Carpenter  as  "the  judge,"  though  sometimes  he 
made  use  of  his  given-name,  Merritt.  A  strong  and  broth 
erly  attachment  now  sprung  up  between  Choate  and  Car 
penter,  which  grew  warmer  and  stronger  until  death  put  an 
end  to  earthly  friendships. 

Many  of  Carpenter's  first  ideas  about  books  were  obtained 


51 

from  Choate,  and  his  advice  to  the  students  of  the  Colum 
bian  law  school  —  "  to  purchase  all  the  books  they  could  for 
cash  or  credit "-  —  was  but  a  repetition,  in  different  form,  of 
Choate's  injunction  when  his  beloved  young  student  started 
for  the  west.  The  training  and  counsel  he  thus  received 
strengthened  and  benefited  his  whole  after  life.  Choate 
was  the  king  of  jury-lawyers,  and  combined  with  exalted 
genius,  to  an  unusual  extent,  practical  methods  and  common 
wisdom,  and  spent  a  great  deal  of  time  in  transmitting  them 
to  Carpenter,  in  explaining  intricate  points  of  law,  and  in 
teaching  him  the  secrets  of  controlling  the  court  or  a  jury. 
He  also  taught  his  devoted  and  admiring  student  the  great 
advantage  resulting  from  that  patient  study  and  preparation 
of  a  case  which  made  the  attorney  ready  for  all  surprises, 
pitfalls  and  technicalities.  Carpenter  often  said  that  Rufus 
Choate  told  him  never  to  leave  a  case  "  until  he  had  become 
fully  satisfied  and  convinced  upon  its  every  phase  and  ques 
tion,"  and  he  always  followed  the  advice.  Choate  alsa  told 
him  to  study  principles  —  to  become  familiar  with  all  the 
underlying  elements  of  the  laws  of  the  world,  and  he  would 
be  prepared  for  the  equity  of  any  possible  matter  that  could 
come  up  in  a  life-time  of  legal  practice.  This  theory  Car 
penter  followed  to  a  greater  extent  even  than  had  his  pre 
ceptor,  for  he  purchased  and  devoured  all  the  decisions, 
reports,  commentaries  and  treatises  published  in  the  English 
language. 

ENTERS  CHOATE'S  FAMILY. 

In  a  few  months  after  Carpenter  went  to  Boston,  Choate's 
eyes  became  very  weak;  in  fact,  temporarily  useless.  Car 
penter  then  acted  as  his  amanuensis,  and  those  he  always 
referred  to  as  his  richest  days  with  Choate,  a  man  who  fairly 
reveled  in  literature  and  all  descriptions  of  learning.  He 
discovered  what  were  his  preceptor's  favorite  books,  how  he 
studied  them,  how  he  prepared  cases  and  arguments;  in 
short,  learned  all  his  secrets  of  work  and  business.  During 


52  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

this  period  of  harvest,  Carpenter  was  an  inmate  of  Choate's 
family,  as  well  as  his  companion  in  court  and  in  almost  all 
other  places.  He  therefore  could  and  frequently  did  relate 
many  interesting  incidents  that  came  under  his  actual  ob 
servation.  Among  others  he  often  told  this:  Choate  was 
once  indulging  in  the  luxury  of  "  a  little  good  wine,"  when 
footsteps  were  heard  on  the  outside.  "Merritt,  get  that 
decanter  and  those  glasses  out  of  the  way  quick;  that  step 
hath  a  Congregational  sound,"  said  Choate.  The  decanter 
and  glasses  were  hardly  out  of  sight,  when,  with  a  rap  at 
the  door,  in  walked  the  Rev.  Nehemiah  Adams,  Choate's 
pastor. 

In  the  spring  of  1848,  upon  Choate's  motion,  Carpenter 
was  admitted  to  practice  before  the  supreme  court  of  Massa 
chusetts.  But  he  looked  the  field  over  —  occupied  by  Web 
ster,  Choate,  Curtis,  and  scores  of  lesser  but  still  distinguished 
practitioners  —  and  concluded  Massachusetts  was  not  the 
place  for  a  young  man  without  means  or  reputation.  He 
had,  before  leaving  Vermont,  told  Mr.  Dillingham  that  he 
should  probably  go  west,  in  the  wisdom  of  which  opinion  his 
foster-father  concurred.  He  announced  to  Choate  that 
Boston  was  no  place  for  poor  young  lawyers,  and  that  he 
intended  to  start  soon  for  Wisconsin,  which  was  about  to  be 
admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  state.1  Choate  replied:  "I 
honor  your  determination,  but  I  was  selfish  enough  to  hope 
you  might  remain  with  me ;  yet,  as  you  have  resolved  upon 
this  step,  you  would  better  not  recede  from  it.  Neverthe 
less,  you  can  always  rely  upon  my  friendship.  Have  you 
any  money?" 

Carpenter  replied  that  he  had  no  means  with  which  to 
purchase  a  law  library.  "  Go,  then,"  said  Choate,  "  to  Little, 
Brown  &  Co.,  select  your  books,  and  refer  them  to  me  for 
security."  Carpenter  was  delighted  beyond  expression  at 
this  substantial  mark  of  esteem  and  confidence,  and  at  the 

1  Admitted  May  29,  1848. 


53 

prospect  of  being  able  to  take  a  library  with  him  —  the  idea 
of  going  to  a  new  country  as  an  attorney  with  no  books  hav 
ing  deeply  concerned  his  mind  from  the  day  he  resolved  to 
go  west.  He  went  to  the  great  house  of  Little,  Brown  & 
Co.,  and  selected  not  only  what  he  conceived  would  be  a 
pretty  good  assortment  of  books  for  a  new  country,  but  a 
pretty  heavy  draught  upon  Choate's  guaranty  of  credit.  He 
took  the  list  back  to  Choate,  who,  after  glancing  over  it,  said: 
•'  Your  list  is  too  small ;"  and  taking  up  a  catalogue,  marked 
an  admirable  collection,  to  the  value  of  about  one  thousand 
dollars  —  a  very  large  sum  in  those  days  for  a  young  and 
briefless  barrister  —  and  added,  "  With  these  tools  you  can 
begin  something  like  effective  work."  Carpenter's  serious 
affliction  of  the  eyes,  after  he  went  to  Beloit,  prevented  the 
payment  of  the  notes  given  for  the  books  when  they  fell  due, 
and  Choate  either  carried  the  debt  or  guarantied  its  pay 
ment,  Little,  Brown  &  Co.  have  now  forgotten  which.  In 
this  connection,  the  subjoined  letter  from  Choate's  son-in-law 
may  be  of  interest: 

BOSTON,  Dec.  27,  1882. 

DEAR  SIR: — 
********** 

In  the  winter  of  1873,  I  was  in  Washington,  and  had  two  or  three  long 
talks  with  Mr.  Carpenter.  He  talked  a  great  deal  of  Mr.  Choate,  and  told 
me,  in  substance,  that  when  he  was  about  to  start  for  the  west,  Mr.  Choate 
said  to  him  that  a  good  law  library  would  be  found  to  be  a  scarcity  in  that 
country,  and  therefore  a  great  necessity  to  him;  that,  owing  to  the  absence 
of  law  books,  his  possession  of  a  good  assortment  of  them  would  be  a 
material  factor  in  his  future  and  early  success.  Mr.  Carpenter  replied  that 
while  all  that  was  very  true,  he  had  no  money  with  which  to  purchase  a 
library,  and  therefore  must  get  along,  as  did  the  others,  without  one. 
Thereupon,  Mr.  Choate  proceeded  to  Little,  Brown  &  Co.,  the  largest  law- 
publishing  firm  here,  selected  a  library  for  young  Carpenter,  and  guaran 
tied  the  pay  for  it. 

Mr.  Carpenter  told  me  that  if,  by  walking  barefooted  to  Boston  and  back 
to  Washington,  he  could  in  any  wav  add  to  the  prosperity  or  comfort  of 
Mr.  Choate's  family,  he  would  gladly  undertake  the  journey. 

EDWARD  ELLERTON  PRATT. 


54  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

In  volume  I  of  John  W.  Forney's  "  Anecdotes  of  Public 
Men,"  are  recorded  almost  the  same  facts  as  appear  in  the 
foregoing  letter,  with  the  additional  statement  that  Carpenter 
was  in  a  comparatively  short  time  enabled  to  liquidate  the 
debt.  '  Mr.  Forney  closed  the  reminiscence  by  relating  that 
he  heard  Carpenter  say:  "  As  long  as  life  lasts  I  shall  never 
cease  to  cherish  the  name  of  Rufus  Choate,  and  I  would 
walk  from  here  to  Boston  barefooted  to  serve  any  of  his 
kith  or  kin."  This  letter  from  Little,  Brown  &  Co.  will  add 
authenticity  to  the  account: 

No.  254  WASHINGTON  STREET,  BOSTON,  Dec.  30,  1882. 
DEAR  SIR  : —  Mr.  Carpenter  was  introduced  to  us  by  Mr.  Choate  as  one 
interested  in  books  and  in  whom  we  could  place  confidence.  From  that 
moment  Mr.  Carpenter  became  a  buyer  of  books,  not  only  professional  but 
works  in  general  literature.  His  selections  always  showed  good  judgment 
and  great  familiarity  with  authors.  He  continued  these  relations  with  us 
through  life,  and  we  were  always  glad  to  have  his  name  on  our  books.1  He 
met  some  misfortunes  in  his  earliest  struggles,  but  we  do  not  think  Mr. 
Choate  ever  really  had  to  pay  for  the  purchases  he  guarantied  for  Mr.  Car 
penter.  Respectfully, 

LITTLE,  BROWN  &  Co. 

PREPARING  TO  LEAVE  BOSTON. 

When  Carpenter  was  ready  for  the  journey  to  Wisconsin, 
Choate  asked  him  how  much  money  he  had.  The  amount 
was  small,  and  the  reply  slow  in  getting  out.  Carpenter, 
however,  finally  admitted  the  unpleasant  truth,  but  added 
that  he  could  get  whatever  might  be  necessary  from  Mr. 
Dillingham,  in  Vermont.  Choate  did  not  seem  to  notice  the 
last  portion  of  the  reply,  but  counted  out  for  his  young  friend 
a  sum  sufficient  to  liquidate  the  cost  of  traveling  between 
Boston  and  Beloit,  and  handed  it  to  him  with  a  written  intro 
duction  and  recommendation,  which  Carpenter  subsequently 

IThe  inquiry  which  brought  this  answer  from  Little,  Brown  &  Co. 
caused  them  to  look  over  their  account  with  Carpenter.  As  a  result,  Mrs. 
Carpenter  soon  received  a  draft  for  $33  —  the  amount  they  discovered 
Carpenter  had  overpaid  them  during  his  life- time. 


TENDER   GRATITUDE.  55 

had  placed  in  a  neat  frame,  and  which  still  occupies  a  con 
spicuous  place  in  the  library  of  the  family  residence  in  Mil 
waukee  : 

BOSTON,  May  25,  1848. 

I  have  great  pleasure  in  stating  that  D.  M.  H.  Carpenter,  Esquire,  is 
well  known  to  me;  that  his  character  is  excellent;  his  talents  of  a  very 
high  order;  his  legal  attainments  very  great  for  his  time  of  life;  and  that 
his  love  of  labor  and  his  fondness  for  his  profession  insure  his  success 
wheresoever  he  may  establish  himself.  He  studied  the  law  in  my  office 
for  the  closing  portion  of  his  term,  and  I  part  with  him  with  great  regret. 
To  the  profession  and  the  public  I  recommend  [him]  as  worthy  of  the 

utmost  confidence,  honor  and  patronage. 

RUFUS  CHOATE, 

Counsellor  at  Law. 
TENDER  GRATITUDE. 

As  will  appear  subsequently,  in  the  account  of  Carpenter's 
blindness,  Choate's  friendship  again  took  substantial  form  in 
several  instances ;  but  eventually,  when  he  had  emerged  from 
all  his  early  misfortunes,  Carpenter  paid  every  dollar  of  these 
obligations.  A  fine  bust  of  Choate,  that  seemed  to  possess 
every  attribute  of  the  great  pleader  save  the  power  of 
speech,  always  had  the  place  of  honor  in  Carpenter's  house, 
and  he  never  showed  it  to  his  friends  without  expressing  the 
warmest  affection  for  its  gifted  original. 

In  his  great  speech  in  the  United  States  senate  on  the 
memorable  resolution  of  Charles  Sumner  relative  to  the  sale 
of  arms  to  the  French  by  the  agent  of  Remington  &  Sons 
during  the  Franco-Prussian  war,  Carpenter  uttered  the  fol 
lowing  splendid  tribute: 

Mr.  Choate  had  been  a  member  of  this  body ;  he  stood  at  the  head  of  the 
legal  profession  of  his  native  state  and  had  no  superior  at  any  bar,  English 
or  American.  As  an  advocate,  he  had  no  peer.  In  this  department  of  his 
profession,  I  do  not  believe  his  equal  ever  lived.  A  mass  of  uninteresting 
facts,  the  tedious  details  of  the  dryest  subject,  touched  by  his  magic  wand, 
stood  forth  to  the  quickened  apprehension  of  court  or  jury  with  the  beauty 
and  freshness  of  spring;  and  his  nervous  oratory  and  magnetic  eloquence 
moved  the  tenderest  emotions  and  strongest  passions  of  men,  as  the  wind 
sways  the  forest  With  international  and  municipal  law,  and  especially 


56  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

with  constitutional  law,  he  was  entirely  familiar.  He  was  full  of  learning, 
but  not  incumbered  by  it,  for  the  details  of  his  knowledge  were  not  attached 
to  him,  like  the  merchandise  strapped  to  a  dromedary,  but  were  digested, 
assimilated,  made  part  of  himself,  by  the  fusing  power  of  his  transcendent 
genius.  He  was  a  great  man  in  every  way. 

Choate's  written  indorsement  of  Carpenter  was  of  great 
value  in  the  west.  It  caused  the  young  lawyer  to  "pass 
current "  among  strangers,  until  he  had  wrought  out  for  him 
self  fame  and  credit. 


SETTLING   IN   WISCONSIN.  57 

CHAPTER  IV. 

SETTLING  IN  WISCONSIN. 

Having  declined  a  partnership  with  his  foster-father,  as 
well  as  a  warm  invitation  to  remain  in  Boston,  and  having 
procured  a  law  library,  as  related,  Carpenter  was  prepared 
to  bid  adieu  to  the  friends,  refinements  and  luxuries  of  an 
old  community,  and  take  up  his  abode  among  the  eager, 
shrewd  and  energetic  strangers  of  the  west.  He  had  been 
advised  to  settle  in  Iowa,  but  thought  more  favorably  of 
Wisconsin,  which  had  just  submitted  a  constitution  for  a 
state  government  to  the  popular  vote  for  adoption  or  rejec 
tion.  He  had  previously  intimated  to  Choate,  that,  if  the 
people  of  the  territory  should  adopt  the  constitution  and 
apply  to  congress  for  admission  to  the  Union  as  a  state,  he 
would  at  once  start  for  Beloit,  a  village  in  Rock  county,  in 
which  several  Vermont  people  were  settlers.  The  election 
to  decide  whether  the  proposed  state  constitution  should  be 
adopted  or  rejected,  took  place  March  13,  1848,  and  resulted 
favorably,  but  Carpenter  did  not  learn  the  fact  positively 
until  the  latter  part  of  April,  owing  to  unavoidable  delay  in 
securing  the  returns  from  remote  precincts,  the  absence  of 
railway  and  telegraphic  communication  with  the  west,  and 
the  slow  travel  of  stages  over  the  heavy  roads  of  the  spring 
season. 

Packing  his  books,  and  purchasing  for  a  small  sum  those 
portions  of  a  new  suit  of  clothing  most  needed,  Carpenter 
was  ready,  toward  the  close  of  May,  to  bid  adieu  to  New 
England.  Passing  over  the  mountains  to  Vermont,  he  spent 
a  day  or  two  each  at  Moretown,  Waterbury  and  Burlington. 
At  the  latter  place  his  future  wife,  then  a  young  girl,  was  at 
tending  school  with  an  elder  sister,  and  he  went  to  pay  them 
a  farewell  visit.  Both  were  sorrowful  when  he  bade  them 
good-bye,  for  it  was  then  considered  that  Wisconsin  was  on 


58  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

the  very  confines  of  human  habitations,  and  that  whoever  set 
tled  among  its  Indians  and  forests  would  never  again  be  seen 
alive  in  New  England.  Farewells  over,  the  ambitious  young 
lawyer  turned  his  face  westward.  Although  he  compassed 
a  portion  of  the  distance  by  steamboat  on  the  lakes,  taken  as 
a  whole  the  journey  was  long  and  tedious,  owing  to  the 
rough  roads  and  the  overloaded  condition  of  the  stage 
coaches,  emigration  to  the  west  then  being  at  high-tide.  He 
afterward  said  that  the  ride  from  Boston  to  Beloit  was  the 
most  discouraging  undertaking  of  his  life,  and  that  more 
than  once,  while  threading  vast  forests  yet  undisturbed  by  the 
ax,  or  miring  across  miles  and  miles  of  beautiful  but  unin 
habited  prairie,  he  felt  that  railroads  and  civilization  could 
never  reach  Wisconsin  during  his  life-time.  He  also  thought, 
when  wallowing  through  an  Illinois  bog,  wet  and  hungry, 
that  no  young  man  ever  departed  from  such  a  pleasant  home 
as  Dillingham's,  or  refused  more  promising  offers  of  business 
relations  than  he  had  left  behind. 

DISAPPOINTED  IN  BELOIT. 

Arriving  at  Beloit  on  a  warm  day  in  June,  he  was  happily 
disappointed  to  find  everything  contrary  to  expectations. 
Civilization  had  been  a  much  earlier  settler  in  Rock  county 
than  himself,  and  he  found  Beloit  a  beautiful  and  growing 
village  of  twelve  hundred  inhabitants,  thriftily  hugging  a  fine 
water-power  on  Rock  river,  and  surrounded  by  farming  lands 
unsurpassed  for  richness  and  beauty.  David  Noggle,  Hazen 
Cheney,  and  one  or  two  other  attorneys,  had  opened  offices 
in  the  village,  and  he  found  grist-mills,  machine-shops,  a  fe 
male  seminary,  several  churches,  and  one  hundred  and  sev 
enty  natives  of  Vermont  all  in  a  prosperous  condition.  A 
college  building  had  also  been  erected,  a  learned  faculty  had 
been  chosen,  and  the  rates  for  the  opening  term  in  Septem 
ber  were  advertised.  Material  was  also  on  the  ground  for 
the  publication  of  a  newspaper,  which  appeared  a  few  days 
later. 


RENTS  AN   OFFICE.  5p 

Carpenter  was  attracted  to  Beloit  by  "  The  New  England 
Emigrating  Company,"  formed  in  1836  in  New  Hampshire 
and  Vermont  by  Dr.  Horace  White,  father  of  the  well- 
known  journalist  and  political  economist  of  the  same  name. 
He  found  it  all  that  had  been  represented,  and  the  doubts 
and  misgivings  of  the  tiresome  journey  gave  way  to  feel 
ings  of  perfect  satisfaction  and  delight  before  the  natural  at 
tractions  of  the  place  and  its  apparent  promise  of  future 
growth  and  prosperity,  in  which,  of  course,  he  would  be  a 
participant. 

It  has  been  stated  that  Rufus  Choate  loaned  Carpenter 
such  a  sum  of  money  as  would  probably  maintain  his  pas 
sage  to  the  west  and  leave  something  with  which  to  start  in 
business  in  his  new  home.  The  journey  was  so  long  and 
costly  that  when  the  young  lawyer  reached  Beloit  his"  entire 
cash  possessions,  except  seventy-five  cents  in  jingling  silver 
coins,  had  been  consumed. 

And  thus  can  be  presented,  unburdened  by  numerous  de 
scriptions  and  cumbrous  terms,  an  inventory  of  all  that  con 
stituted  the  foundation  upon  which  Carpenter  began  the 
most  brilliant  and  distinguished  career  belonging  to  any  citi 
zen  of  Wisconsin,  to  wit:  A  good  library,  a  well-anchored 
ambition  to  excel  in  his  profession,  a  handsome  figure  and 
winning  countenance,  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  good  hu 
mor,  an  unusually  liberal  education  for  that  day,  a  prodigious 
capacity  for  labor  and  research,  and  seventy-five  cents  in 

silver. 

.  RENTS  AN  OFFICE. 

Carpenter  rented  an  office  of  Bicknell  Brothers,  in  the  sec 
ond  story  of  their  solid  stone  block  and  over  their  drug-store. 
He  opened  the  boxes  containing  his  library  and  arranged  the 
volumes  tastefully  in  the  office.  Their  number,  fine  binding 
and  costliness  became  the  talk  of  the  village.  Thus  the  ad 
vent  of  the  young  attorney  received  a  liberal  advertisement 
without  any  effort  on  his  part,  and  the  people  at  the  same 
time  conceived  a  high  opinion  of  his  ability  and  learning. 


6O  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

After  taking  one  or  two  meals  at  the  hotel,  he  discovered 
that  without  a  change  of  programme  his  money  would  soon 
be  gone,  and  therefore  requested  the  Bicknells  to  direct  him 
to  a  less  costly  boarding-place.  They  introduced  him  to  the 
Atwood  family,  with  whom  he  boarded  for  some  months. 
Dr.  C.  H.  Bicknell,  who  still  survives,  testifies  that  Carpen 
ter,  after  a  few  weeks,  always  paid  not  only  his  office  rent 
and  board  bills,  but  all  other  obligations,  promptly  and  with 
apparent  self-gratification.  If  he  did  not  have  sufficient  ready 
money  for  any  purpose,  he  was  so  popular  that  anybody 
was  willing  to  grant  him  the  favor  of  a  loan. 

After  renting  an  office  and  arranging  his  books,  Carpenter 
felt  the  need  of  a  sign,  a  "  shingle."  Thrusting  either  hand 
gently  into  his  pockets,  he  discovered  the  homeopathic  bolus 
of  silver  had  departed.  Nevertheless  there  must  be  a  sign 
board  to  direct  people  to  his  office.  A  painter  was  found,  and 
an  order  left  for  as  handsome  a  sign  as  could  be  painted  —  "  D. 
M.  H.  Carpenter,  counselor  at  law."  Two  days  later  he  was 
again  revolving  the  subject  in  his  mind.  The  job  was  done, 
and  how  to  get  it  without  cash  or  credit  was  the  problem, 
though  only  the  sum  of  fifty  cents  was  involved.  He  could 
not  go  in  person  and  beg  to  be  trusted  for  that  insignificant 
amount;  so  hailing  a  small  boy  he  ordered,  with  the  air  of  a 
millionaire :  "  Go  over  to  Smith's  and  tell  him  to  send  up  my 
sign,  with  his  bill."  Within  five  minutes  the  lad  returned, 
carefully  bearing  at  arm's  length  the  coveted  and  glittering 
sign.  In  a  few  days  Carpenter  borrowed  fifty  cents  and  paid 
the  painter,  at  the  same  time  relating  how  deeply  he  had  been 
chagrined  over  a  matter  which,  though  infinitely  small,  was 
yet  too  great  for  his  financial  resources. 

In  those  early  days  there  were  no  railways,  telegraph  lines 
or  daily  newspapers  to  crowd  the  little  New  England  com 
munity  with  startling  news  and  momentous  events.  The 
probable  history  of  new-comers,  local  enterprises  and  neigh 
borhood  transactions  limited  the  field  of  interest  and  gossip, 
and  thus  every  person  became  well-known  of  every  other 


SOCIAL   ADVANCEMENT.  6l 

person.  Therefore,  that  Carpenter  had  come  from  dis 
tinguished  surroundings;  that  he  was  the  -protege  of  Paul 
Dillingham;  that  he  had  spent  two  years  at  West  Point; 
that  he  was  the  ward  of  the  great  Rufus  Choate;  that  he  had 
the  finest  library  in  the  country  and  was  the  best-looking 
young  man  in  Rock  county,  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth  for 
miles  around  with  a  rapidity  and  relish  not  known  to  modern 
times.  But  a  brief  period  elapsed  before  he  had  a  client, 
and  as  the  legal  business  in  a  small  way  was  very  good  in 
those  days,  one  case  brought  another,  and  Carpenter  soon 
enjoyed  a  practice  as  large  as  that  of  any  attorney  in  Beloit. 
Then,  as  always  afterward,  much  of  his  business  brought  no 
fees.  He  gave  his  services  to  all  comers,  whether  they  could 
pay  or  not.  This  trait  became  well  understood,  and  was 
employed  to  impose  on  Carpenter's  generosity  by  many  who 
were  in  reality  able  to  pay.  Hence  his  income  was  probably 
less  than  that  of  David  Noggle,  Hazen  Cheney  or  John  M. 
Keep,  rival  attorneys. 

SOCIAL  ADVANCEMENT. 

Socially  Carpenter  became  popular  in  a  very  brief  period. 
Everybody  was  young,  spirited  and  joyous,  and  as  the  old 
survivors  depose,  "  he  was  the  gem  of  the  town."  Although 
the  only  time  he  was  ever  known  to  dance  in  Beloit  was  at 
the  opening  of  a  hotel,  he  was  invited  to  and  present  at  every 
social  gathering,  no  matter  what  its  character,  and  was  gen 
erally  the  center  of  considerable  attraction.  His  military  step 
and  bearing  and  his  attractive  face  and  figure,  made  him  a 
favorite  with  the  softer  sex,  while  his  wit,  learning,  genius 
and  humor  drew  the  attention  of  all  others.  He  invariably 
attended  church  and  the  evening  gatherings  of  the  church 
people,  and  never  failed  to  respond  liberally  at "  mite  societies  " 
and  to  the  passing  contribution  box.  On  one  occasion,  in  the 
autumn  of  1848,  he  was  introduced  to  the  ladies  of  a  sewing 
society.  After  a  season  of  light  conversation,  during  which 
a  crowd  pressed  around  the  young  visitor,  some  one  raised 


62  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

the  cry,  "  a  speech,  a  speech  ! "  Carpenter's  friends  were  in 
a  state  of  trepidation,  not  understanding  how  he  could  re 
spond  in  a  speech  on  an  occasion  like  that,  or  how  he  could 
otherwise  extricate  himself.  To  their  delight  and  astonish 
ment,  however,  he  arose  with  the  utmost  good  humor  and 
self-possession,  delivering  a  speech  of  rare  felicity.  The  sur 
roundings,  those  for  the  promotion  of  charity,  instead  of  being 
such  as  to  embarrass  him,  were  just  the  ones  to  call  out  his 
finest  eloquence. 

Carpenter's  rapid  social  advancement  was  the  result  of  no 
steps  of  his  own  in  that  direction,  though  he  was  from  child 
hood  a  lover  of  congenial  company  and  good  cheer.  His 
education,  previous  condition  and  natural  endowments  placed 
him  somewhat  above  the  ordinary  level  in  a  village  of  more 
than  the  usual  advancement  and  culture  of  the  new  west, 
and  people  clustered  about  him  as  a  pleasant  leader. 

TRAINS  A  MILITARY  COMPANY. 

In  front  of  Carpenter's  office  was  a  beautiful  level  plat  of  un 
occupied  land,  covered  with  fresh,  green  grass.  He  suggested 
that  it  would  be  an  admirable  drill-ground,  and  that  a 
military  company  be  formed  to  take  advantage  of  its  eligi 
bility.  In  a  brief  period  the  suggestion  was  acted  upon  and 
a  company  was  organized,  Beloit  containing  at  that  time  but 
a  small  number  of  men  who  were  either  too  old  or  too 
young  for  military  service.  Carpenter,  having  been  at  West 
Point,  was  unanimously  chosen  drill-master.  The  members 
of  the  company  were  highly  pleased  when  he  first  came 
down  to  drill  them.  His  military  coat  was  buttoned  closely 
across  the  breast,  and  he  walked  up  and  down  in  front  of 
the  line  to  show  them  the  erect  figure  and  measured  but  spir 
ited  tread  of  a  regular.  For  some  time  the  meetings  were 
prompt  and  full.  The  boys  thought  the  village  could  easily 
be  transformed,  for  public  occasions  at  least,  into  regular 
army  barracks,  and  that  in  a  few  months  everybody  would 
look  as  gallant  and  distinguished  as  their  drill-master.  But 


TRAINS   A   MILITARY    COMPANY.  63 

they  soon  discovered  that  a  good  military  company  is  the 
absolute  servant  of  its  commander,  and  that  proficiency  in 
maneuvres  and  perfection  in  military  carriage  can  only  be 
achieved  after  long  and  faithful  discipline.  Carpenter,  de 
termined  they  should  achieve  this,  put  them  through  accord 
ing  to  the  most  rigid  rules  of  the  regular  army,  demanding 
quick  and  strict  obedience  of  all.  He  would  pass  in  the  rear 
of  the  line  and  straighten  the  stoop-shouldered,  stiffen  the 
lop-headed,  and  square  up  those  whose  knees  had  an  inward 
and  heels  an  outward  draw.  Three  or  four  of  the  most  head 
strong,  who  cared  more  for  the  display  and  the  name  of  be 
longing  to  a  military  company  than  for  the  discipline  and  real 
benefits  to  accrue,  were  decidedly  averse  to  being  thus  "  or 
dered  around,"  and,  after  indignantly  informing  the  drill- 
master  that  "he  couldn't  show  off  on  them  any  more," 
resigned.  This  left  the  company  harmonious,  and  its  affairs 
moved  forward  in  pleasant  prosperity.  This  early  military 
organization,  undoubtedly  the  first  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin, 
became  pleasantly  proficient  in  warlike  tactics,  and  was  a 
source  of  much  pride  to  the  citizens  of  Beloit  as  well  as  of 
credit  to  Carpenter,  who  bestowed  his  time  and  learning  for 
the  benefit  of  the  public.  The  few  survivors  speak  with 
pride  of  their  connection  with  it,  and  with  affection  and  ad 
miration  for  Carpenter,  who  was  a  model  drill-master. 


64  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

CHAPTER  V. 

A  LONG  PERIOD  OF  DARKNESS. 

Suddenly,  with  no  apparent  cause,  during  the  autumn  of 
1848,  Carpenter  was  prostrated  by  a  violent  attack  of  inflam 
mation  of  the  eyes.  The  local  physicians,  of  whom  Beloit 
then  contained  a  half-dozen,  offered  all  the  relief  in  their 
power,  but  were  unable  to  cope  with  the  disease,  which  for 
a  time  obstinately  held  its  own  as  inflammation,  and  then  as 
sumed  a  more  complicated  and  dangerous  form,  steadily 
growing  worse.  He  continued  to  take  cases  for  trial  before 
justices  and  to  go  out  into  the  country  to  manage  them.  At 
this  time  he  had  a  room-mate  named  E.  P.  King,  still  a  resi- 

O' 

dent  of  Beloit,  who  looked  up  authorities,  performed  the 
necessary  writing,  and  went  with  Carpenter  into  court  to  ren 
der  any  aid  that  might  be  required.  The  people  sympa 
thized  with  Carpenter  in  this  heavy  affliction  and  brought 
more  cases  than  ever  to  him,  so  that  blindness  increased 
rather  than  diminished  his  professional  business.  With  the 
kind  help  of  Mr.  King  he  continued  to  serve  his  clients,  con 
trary  to  the  advice  of  physicians,  who  forbade  labor  and  ex 
citement  of  every  kind.  He  had  the  treatment  of  all  the 
doctors  in  Beloit,  but  was  impatient  of  their  efforts  because 
they  did  not  heal  his  eyes.  This  impatience,  together  with 
his  persistent  labors,  made  it  impossible  for  human  skill  to 
advance  him  in  any  perceptible  degree  toward  convales 
cence.  He  was  therefore  advised  to  go  to  Delavan,  in  an 
adjoining  county,  where  he  would  find  complete  rest  and  an 
oculist  of  some  note.  By  this  time  Carpenter  had  to  be  led 
everywhere  by  Mr.  King,  and  never  left  the  room  without  a 
heavy  green  veil  over  his  face,  which  was  frequently  supple 
mented  by  a  close  bandage.  The  advice  to  go  to  Delavan 
was  urgent,  and  notwithstanding  the  cold  weather  and  rough 
roads,  he  determined  to  heed  it.  Bundled  up  like  a  little 
babe  from  head  to  foot,  accompanied  by  his  faithful  friend 


A   LONG    PERIOD    OF   DARKNESS.  65 

King,  he  beat  across  the  country  to  a  little  village  in  Wai- 
worth  county,  and  there,  living  in  a  bad  hotel  and  under  the 
treatment  of  a  charlatan,  he  remained  during  a  period  of  ten 
days,  perhaps  a  fortnight.  There  King  read  Shakespeare, 
Scott,  Erskine  and  the  Bible  to  his  afflicted  patient  to  no 
purpose.  He  chafed  under  the  ineffectual  treatment  of  the 
pretended  oculist,  and  returned  to  Beloit  worse  rather  than 
better.  Here,  for  a  brief  period,  he  refrained  from  labor,  his 
physicians  having  otherwise  refused  to  treat  him.  He  had 
kind  care  from  the  friends  and  relatives  of  the  Atwood 
household,  and  from  Mr.  King,  who,  like  a  close  and  faithful 
companion,  led  him  about  and  read  to  him  from  choice  vol 
umes  by  the  hour  every  day  and  evening.  At  first  Carpen 
ter  shortened  the  days  by  playing  checkers,  a  game  of  which 
he  was  exceedingly  fond,  and  in  which  he  was  an  expert; 
but  soon  he  became  too  blind  for  this,  and,  of  course,  for 
participation  in  any  other  recreation  or  labor.  The  reading, 
music  and  conversation  of  others  were  then  drawn  upon 
more  heavily  than  ever. 

Up  to  this  time  the  power  of  the  organs  of  sight  had  not 
been  impaired  except  from  sympathy,  the  partial  loss  of  their 
use  resulting  from  the  inflamed  and  swollen  condition  of  the 
lids.  But  it  was  becoming  apparent  that  the  orbs  themselves 
were  weakening,  and  that,  unless  relief  should  soon  be  af 
forded,  he  would  entirely  lose  the  use  of  them.  Under  these 
circumstances,  Dr.  Bicknell  advised  his  patient  to  go  to  New 
York  without  delay  and  enter  the  noted  eye  infirmary,  then 
under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Kearney  Rogers.  In  fact  he  was 
told  by  the  Beloit  physicians  that  his  sight  probably  could 
never  be  fully  restored,  and  certainly  not  even  partially  re 
tained,  unless  no  time  were  lost  in  seeking  special  skill  and 
special  facilities  for  treatment.  Struck  with  horror  by  the 
thought  of  a  life-time  of  darkness,  in  which  all  reading, 
writing,  professional  labors  and  literary  pursuits  must  be 
abandoned  or  carried  on  through  an  amanuensis,  he  pre 
pared  with  all  possible  haste  to  do  as  advised. 
5 


66  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 


IN  NEW  YORK. 

Early  in  1849,  having  gathered  about  $50,  Carpenter  un 
dertook  what,  in  a  fair  summer  atmosphere,  would  be  a 
perilous  journey  for  a  person  in  his  condition,  but  which  was 
rendered  ten-fold  more  precarious  by  the  bad  roads  and  in 
clement  weather.  Having  paid  the  bills  of  passage,  he  dis 
covered,  on  arrival  in  New  York,  that  his  cash  possessions 
would  meet  the  demands  of  the  landlady  for  only  a  few 
weeks.  A  kind-hearted  Mrs.  Green  was  the  proprietor  of 
the  boarding-house  connected  with  the  infirmary,  and  Car 
penter  obtained  quarters  with  her  temporarily.  But,  finding 
that  she  and  her  family  were  unusually  obliging  and  attentive, 
and,  above  all,  that  her  charges  were  moderate,  he  concluded 
to  remain  with  her  as  long  as  it  might  be  necessary  to  con 
tinue  in  the  city,  which  he  did.  The  patient  did  not  make 
his  straitened  financial  condition  known  to  Dr.  Rogers  or 
Mrs.  Green,  but  at  once  dispatched  a  letter  to  Rufus  Choate, 
giving  an  account  of  his  misfortune,  describing  how,  blind 
folded,  he  had  "  staggered  from  Beloit  to  New  York,"  as  the 
last  and  only  hope  of  saving  his  eye-sight,  and  confessing  a 
lack  of  the  funds  necessary  to  enable  him  to  remain  in  the 
infirmary  until  healed.  The  letter  was  not  sealed,  however, 
until  Carpenter  had  expressed  sanguine  hopes  of  professional 
and  financial  success  in  his  thrifty  western  home,  whenever 
he  should  be  sufficiently  recovered  to  return  to  his  labors. 
In  the  shortest  possible  time,  an  answer  to  this  note  was 
received.  It  contained  not  only  a  sympathetic  and  cheering 
letter  from  the  great  jurist,  but  a  check  for  a  liberal  sum  of 
money,  and  an  invitation  to  call  upon  him  for  further  assist 
ance,  whenever  circumstances  might  render  such  a  course 
necessary. 

Carpenter  had  been  in  the  infirmary  but  a  few  days  when 
he  became  totally  blind  —  the  dark  event  prophesied  by  the 
Beloit  physicians.  He  was  naturally  greatly  alarmed,  and 
asked  Dr.  Rogers'  opinion  concerning  the  case,  saying  he 


THE   ANGEL   MOTHER.  67 

wanted  to  know  the  worst.  The  doctor  replied  that  he  was 
not  hopeless  of  effecting  a  cure,  though  the  disease  had 
become  a  very  complicated  one,  with  the  chances  between 
recovery  and  permanent  or  partial  blindness  about  evenly 
divided.  This  was  indeed  gloomy  news  to  one  who  loved 
the  use  of  all  his  faculties  as  fondly  as  did  Carpenter,  and 
whose  prospects  of  achieving  success  in  his  profession  were 
of  such  uncommon  brightness,  and  depending  so  particularly 
upon  his  eye-sight.  He  afterward  said  that  he  thought  he 
could  not  be  blamed  for  almost  losing  hope  under  circum 
stances  like  those,  as  no  one  who  had  not  suffered  that 
whelming  affliction  could  have  any  conception  of  how  impen 
etrable  is  the  shadow  that  envelops  the  soul  when  the  light 
of  day  is  shut  out,  or  how  black  and  sterile  the  world  seems 
to  those  who  can  no  longer  look  upon  its  changes,  its  beauties, 
and  its  opportunities.  Nevertheless,  he  added,  blindness  that 
is  only  temporary  will  have  upon  a  person  of  literary  tastes, 
who  has  already  acquired  considerable  general  information 
by  extensive  reading,  a  lasting  beneficial  effect.  Up  to  this 
recess,  he  had  been  devouring  every  volume  of  law,  literature, 
history  and  biography  that  fell  in  his  way,  and  the  period  of' 
blindness,  costly  and  unpleasant  as  it  was,  gave  Carpenter 
time  to  digest  them,  draw  conclusions  from  them,  and  arrange 
their  valuable  portions  in  his  mind  for  future  use. 

THE  ANGEL  MOTHER, 

In  March,  chills  and  fever  were  added  to  his  bodily  ills,  and 
at  one  time  they  reached  a  very  aggravated  stage.  On  a 
certain  night,  as  he  lay  alone  in  a  fireless  room,  the  rigors 
approached  a  climax.  It  seemed,  he  related,  that  they  would 
certainly  shake  the  life  out  of  him.  "  Oh,  how  cold  I  was," 
he  said,  "  and  how  I  longed  for  some  one  to  come  and  cover 
me!  At  last,  after  I  was  almost  frozen  to  death,  my  mother 
came.  She  changed  my  pillow,  spread  on  more  coverlets, 
and  tucked  up  the  bed.  Then  I  was  warm.  Her  face  had 
almost  passed  from  my  mind,  but  when  she  appeared  at  my 


68  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

bedside,  it  came  back  to  me  instantly.  Her  dear,  sweet 
image  has  never  left  me  since.  I  know  she  came.  I  felt 
her  hand,  saw  her  face  as  plainly  as  I  ever  saw  anything, 
and  watched  her  arrange  the  bed.  God  bless  her!  She 
came  back  from  on  high  to  save  my  life."  Thus,  after  he 
was  able  to  return  briefly  to  Vermont,  Carpenter  related  the 
story  of  the  vision  to  his  sisters.  He  was  probably  delirious, 
but  not  then  nor  ever  after  could  any  force  of  argument 
shake  the  belief  that  his  mother,  who  died  fourteen  years 
before,  came  to  visit  and  soothe  him  in  the  hour  of  loneliness 
and  distress.  Mrs.  Green,  his  landlady,  wrote  to  the  friends 
in  Vermont:  "The  poor  boy  thought,  in  his  delirium,  that 
his  mother  came  from  Heaven  to  assuage  his  woe;  but  it 
was  only  poor,  old  Mrs.  Green  who  spread  on  the  coverlets 
and  smoothed  his  pillow." 

A  FRIENDLY  POLYPHEMUS. 

A  young  man  of  ample  education,  named  Benedict,  from 
one  of  the  southern  states,  became  Carpenter's  companion 
soon  after  his  arrival  in  New  York.  This  young  gentleman 
had  lost  the  use  of  one  eye,  and  was  in  the  infirmary  for  the 
purpose  of  having  the  sightless  orb  removed  and  replaced  by 
one  of  glass.  Having  one  good  eye,  he  offered  to  read  the 
newspapers  to  Carpenter,  and  to  read  and  answer  his  letters. 
It  is  needless  to  record  that  this  generous  proposition  was 
gratefully  accepted,  and  equally  needless  to  say  that  the  two 
young  men,  who  were  of  about  the  same  age,  became  the 
warmest  friends.  Not  only  did  this  philanthropic  Polyphe 
mus  from  the  south  read  newspapers  and  letters  to  his  blind 
companion,  but  gave  him  copious  draughts  from  general 
literature. 

Young  Benedict  either  brought  to  New  York,  or  pur 
chased  while  there,  a  volume  of  miscellaneous  poems,  which 
was  read  and  re-read,  dissected,  discussed  and  digested  with 
the  greatest  freedom  and  impartiality.  During  this  period, 
and  from  the  reading  of  this  volume  by  Benedict,  Carpenter 


THE   TRUE    PHILOSOPHER.  69 

committed  to  memory  all,  save  the  ballads,  of  Scott's  "  Lady 
of  the  Lake  "  [equal  to  about  one  hundred  pages  of  this  vol 
ume],  Burns'  "Brigs  of  Ayr"  and  "The  Jolly  Beggars," 
Byron's  "  Corsair  "  and  "The  Prisoner  of  Chillon,"  besides 
several  lesser  poems.  Such  an  extraordinary  achievement  at 
once  made  the  "  blind  young  Milton  of  the  Wilderness,"  as 
Carpenter  was  called,  a  noted  character  in  the  neighbor 
hood,  and  hardly  an  evening  passed  without  a  crowd  gather 
ing  to  hear  him  recite  passages  from  "The  Lady  of  the 
Lake,"  or  from  that  splendid  description  of  the  tribula 
tions  of  Robert  Bruce,  "The  Lord  of  the  Isles,"  or  with 
inimitable  felicity,  that  roaring  trespass  upon  broad  humor, 
"  The  Jolly  Beggars."  On  such  occasions  the  center  of  the 
room,  from  one  end  to  the  other,  was  cleared,  in  order  to 
give  him  opportunity  to  indulge  his  invariable  habit  of  walk 
ing  back  and  forth  while  entertaining  his  unseen  but  de 
lighted  audience.  These  were  indeed  rare  evenings  to  those 
permitted  to  be  present,  for  at  no  subsequent  period  of  his 
life,  rich  and  entrancing  as  were  his  recitations  of  poetry, 
could  Carpenter  surpass,  in  eloquence  and  dramatic  effect, 
those  peculiarly  interesting  efforts  of  his  early  days,  in  an 
obscure  chamber  in  New  York,  before  hearers  whose  faces 
he  was  never  permitted  to  look  upon. 

THE  TRUE  PHILOSOPHER. 

And  thus  several  weeks  and  months  passed,  not  without 
some  pleasure  and  considerable  profit  to  the  afflicted  patient,  it 
must  be  acknowledged.  The  young  southerner,  through 
whose  unremitting  kindness  Carpenter  was  able  to  learn  the 
current  news  of  the  day  and  commit  to  memory  almost  a  vol 
ume  of  poems,  returned  home,  leaving  no  one  to  take  his  place. 
The  film  or  pigment  which  grew  over  the  patient's  eyes 
had  in  the  meantime  been  removed  by  Dr.  Rogers,  enabling 
Carpenter  to  see  well  enough  to  move  about  the  neighboring 
streets  and  to  write  short  letters.  But  the  returning  hope  of 


7O  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

restored  sight  was  dampened  by  the  fact  that  the  money  sent 
by  Choate  had  been  exhausted,  and  a  letter  advising  him  of 
that  fact  had  remained  unanswered  for  four  weeks.  Think 
ing  the  letter  might  have  been  miscarried,  another  was  sent 
in  accordance  with  Choate's  urgent  invitation;  but  when,  at 
the  end  of  another  week,  no  answer  was  received,  Carpenter 
explained  to  Dr.  Rogers  and  Mrs.  Green  his  exact  situa 
tion,  exhibiting  Choate's  promise  of  whatever  financial  aid 
might  be  necessary  to  restore  his  sight.  Mrs.  Green  was 
poor  and  unable  to  bestow  much  charity,  but  Dr.  Rogers 
at  once  offered  to  continue  his  treatment  of  Carpenter  at  any 
boarding-place  he  might  be  able  to  secure.  Here  was  a  di 
lemma  of  no  mean  proportions.  Dr.  Rogers  declared  his 
patient  could  only  undertake  a  journey  to  Wisconsin  or  Ver 
mont  at  the  certain  peril  of  his  eyes,  though  their  condition 
had  at  this  time  begun  to  materially  improve.  Carpenter 
replied  that,  let  the  results  be  what  they  might,  he  saw  no 
alternative  but  to  leave  New  York,  as  his  money  was  entirely 
gone,  his  board  bill  was  past  due,  and  two  letters  to  Rufus 
Choate  had  not  been  answered  in  any  form  whatever. 

The  unanswered  letters  were  more  puzzling  than  his  sev 
eral  other  troubles,  and  he  thus  expressed  himself  to  Dr. 
Rogers,  knowing  that  Choate,  if  alive  and  well,  was  not  the 
man  to  be  so  discourteous  as  to  refuse  to  notice  the  corre 
spondence  of  even  a  stranger.  The  doctor  answered  that  he 
should  not  listen  to  the  proposition  to  leave  New  York;  that 
there  was  doubtless  some  good  reason  for  the  failure  of 
Choate  to  write,  and  that  sooner  or  later  satisfactory  tidings 
would  be  received  from  him ;  that  he  could,  if  Carpenter  had 
no  false  pride,  secure  comfortable  quarters  and  wholesome 
food  for  him  at  the  Belle vue  Hospital,  and  that  he  would 
go  there  and  continue  the  treatment  as  long  as  might  be 
necessary,  trusting  to  the  future  for  remuneration,  or  even 
making  no  charge  at  all.  Carpenter,  without  any  hesitancy 
or  apparent  squeamishness,  said  he  would  go,  and  it  was  ar- 


THE   TRUE   PHILOSOPHER.  7 1 

ranged  that  at  the  end  of  that  week  Dr.  Rogers  should 
drive  him  in  his  carriage  over  to  the  hospital.  At  this  point 
it  may  be  stated  that  the  reason  Carpenter  did  not  call  upon 
his  foster-father,  Paul  Dillingham,  for  financial  succor,  which 
he  knew  would  be  promptly  and  gladly  forthcoming,  was 
that  he  had  already  received  aid  from  Choate,  and,  expecting 
every  mail  from  Boston  would  bring  further  and  ample  relief 
from  the  same  abundant  source,  neglected  to  send  to  Water- 
bury  a  statement  of  his  pressing  necessities  until  face  to  face 
with  the  alternative  recorded. 

Dr.  Rogers  went,  as  he  had  promised,  over  to  the  Belle- 
vue  Hospital,  and  secured  for  his  patient,  in  whom  he  took 
hardly  less  than  a  father's  interest,  good  accommodations  and 
a  promise  of  special  care,  "  the  case  being  one  of  no  ordinary 
character,"  he  carefully  impressed  upon  the  superintendent. 
But  on  returning  he  found  Carpenter,  who  had  received  a 
letter  from  Choate,  in  high  spirits.  The  message,  dated 
on  shipboard,  inclosed  a  draft  for  all  the  money  Carpen 
ter  would  be  likely  to  need  for  some  months,  and  contained 
an  explanation  of  Choate's  long  silence.  Having  become 
prostrate  and  exhausted  by  overwork,  his  physician  had  per 
emptorily  ordered  him  to  Europe  for  rest  and  a  change  of 
scene,  and  in  the  hurry  of  preparation  he  had  forgotten  to 
make  the  intended  provision  for  Carpenter. 

This  narrow  escape  of  Carpenter  from  being  for  a  few 
days  or  weeks  an  inmate  of  a  public  hospital,  owing  to  cir 
cumstances  over  which  he  had  no  control,  is  chiefly  interest 
ing  because  his  willingness  to  enter  such  a  place  until  he 
could  hear  from  his  friends,  shows  that  he  was  a  true  man 
and  genuine  philosopher.  He  interposed  no  fanciful  notions 
or  aristocratic  objections  to  what  is  by  many  regarded  too 
much  in  the  nature  of  a  personal  humiliation,  but  which,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  is  not  more  so  than  the  use  of  the  public 
highways  or  the  enjoyment  of  the  benefits  and  protection  of 
government  by  those  who  are  not  tax-payers. 


72  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 


A  VISIT  TO  VERMONT. 

Carpenter  was  compelled  to  remain  in  the  infirmary  during 
a  period  of  sixteen  months.  Even  then  he  had  not  so  far 
recovered  that  Dr.  Rogers  would  consent  to  his  removal  to 
Vermont  except  upon  condition  that  he  would  do  no  reading 
or  writing  for  at  least  six  months.  Nothing  worthy  of  men 
tion  transpired  after  the  narrow  escape  from  Bellevue  Hos 
pital,  except  that  a  very  warm  friendship  sprung  up  be 
tween  the  generous  physician  and  his  modest  but  talented 
patient;  so,  having  made  the  required  promise,  it  only  remains 
'to  record  that  Carpenter  left  New  York  during  the  summer 
of  1850  for  Dillingham's.  There,  wearing  dark  glasses  and 
a  broad  shade  over  his  eyes  to  protect  them  from  sunlight, 
for  about  six  weeks  he  visited,  rode  and  wandered  away  the 
soft  summer  hours.  The  promise  to  Dr.  Rogers  to  do 
no  reading  was  diligently  kept —  more,  perhaps,  through  the 
watchfulness  of  the  members  of  the  Dillingham  family  than 
the  efforts  of  the  patient  himself.  Cara,  who  was  then  at 
home  from  school  on  a  vacation,  gave  most  of  her  time  to 
him,  of  whom  she  had  always  been  very  fond;  and  there  be 
gan  that  attachment  and  devotion  which,  as  properly  appears 
later  on,  was  finally  sealed  between  them  for  life  and  eternity. 

RETURNS  TO  BELOIT. 

Toward  the  close  of  August  Carpenter  concluded  he 
was  as  nearly  healed  as  he  ever  would  be,  and  prepared  to 
return  to  Wisconsin.  Understanding  full  well  that  after  so 
long  an  absence  he  would  not  only  find  his  previous  business 
relations  broken  and  destroyed,  but  that  it  would  be  neces 
sary  to  make  arrangements  to  live  for  some  months  without 
earning  much  from  his  profession,  he  began  the  journey  home 
by  going  to  Boston,  where  he  negotiated  with  Francis  B. 
Crowninshield  for  $500,  securing  the  "  accommodation  ac 
ceptance  "  by  a  chattel  mortgage  on  his  office  furniture  and 


RETURNS   TO   BELOIT.  73 

a  portion  of  his  library.  On  this  he  received  $50  in  cash,  and 
subsequently  drew  on  Crowninshield  for  $200,  the  draft 
being  honored;  the  balance  of  the  accommodation  was  never 
negotiated.  The  notes  were  dated  "  Boston,  September  9, 
1850,"  and  the  chattel  mortgage  was  filed  with  B.  W.  Small, 
town  clerk  of  Beloit,  October  20,  1850. 

During  the  last  days  of  September,  1850,  Carpenter  reached 
Beloit,  having  been  absent  eighteen  months.  Although  cor 
dially  greeted  by  the  entire  population  of  the  village,  who  re 
joiced  at  his  return,  they  were  nevertheless  pained  to  observe 
the  unfavorable  condition  of  his  eyes.  And  Carpenter  him 
self  found  he  was  more  helpless  than  he  had  supposed. 
Therefore,  for  some  months  Mr.  King,  Jonas  M.  Bundy  and 
others  —  all  were  willing  —  were  compelled  to  read,  write, 
and  perform  other  like  services  for  him  at  home  and  in  his 
office.  Mr.  King  recollects  that  he  never  heard  Carpenter 
utter  a  word  of  complaint l  or  express  a  regret  that  fortune 
was  less  generous  with  him  than  with  others  —  never  saw  him 
despondent  or  wince  under  any  suffering.  On  the  contrary, 
he  seemed  even  more  cheerful  and  witty,  and  the  sunshine 
of  his  soul  shed  more  effulgence  than  had  the  light  of  his 
wondrous  eyes.  He  desired  to  be  told  the  identity  of  all 
persons  met  on  the  street,  in  order  that  he  might,  though  blind, 
address  them  by  name  and  extend  a  pleasant  greeting;  and 
at  social  gatherings  the  flow  of  his  humor  was  never  more 
full  and  enjoyable  than  during  this  long  night  of  fris  youth. 

Carpenter's  eyes  never  fully  recovered.  They  were  less 
strong  than  formerly  and  less  clear  and  beautiful.  It  was 
always  thereafter  necessary  for  him  to  hold  a  book  or  news 
paper  very  close  to  them  in  order  to  read;  sometimes  an  ap 
parent  film  would  cover  the  iris,  and  nothing  was  clearly 

1  During  the  most  hopeless  period  of  the  affliction  he  caused  cheerful 
letters  to  be  written  to  his  sisters  and  others.  In  October,  1850,  he  wrote 
to  his  sister  Esther  that  the  clouds  were  clearing  away ;  his  eyes  were  bet 
ter,  his  health  good,  and  his  weight  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  pounds. 


74  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

discernible  at  even  a  moderate  distance.  He  was  thus  unable 
to  recognize  any  except  the  most  familiar  forms  and  faces 
unless  they  were  comparatively  near  to  him,  which  frequently 
gave  rise  to  the  unjust  charge  that  he  was  thoughtless  of  his 
friends  and  contemptuous  of  his  formal  acquaintances.  This 
early  misfortune,  therefore,  cost  Carpenter  a  large  number 
of  unpleasant  experiences  and  explanations  in  later  life.  Be 
fore  starting  for  New  York  his  Beloit  physician  told  him  that 
he  would  be  marked  for  life.  He  found,  sometimes  to  his 
annoyance,  and  often  to  his  discomfort,  that  the  prediction 
was  a  true  one,  for  the  lids  ever  after  drooped  unnaturally 
over  the  eyes,  and  his  power  of  vision  was  uncertain.  Thus, 
those  who  never  saw  him  previous  to  1849  had  no  conception 
of  the  perfection  of  his  personal  attractions  nor  of  the  beauty 
of  the  deep,  winning,  omnipotent  orbs  that  nature  had  set 
in  his  large  and  shapely  head. 

A  BEAUTIFUL  INCIDENT. 

On  returning  from  the  east  Carpenter  did  not  resume  board 
and  lodging  with  the  Atwoods,  but  furnished  rooms  and  had 
his  meals  in  the  house  of  Samuel  B.  Cooper,  a  well-known 
justice  of  the  peace.  Soon  after  becoming  an  inmate  of  that 
household  a  bright  and  beautiful  little  daughter  was  born  to 
the  lady  of  the  house.  He  asked  the  privilege  of  naming 
the  child,  which  was  granted,  and  it  was  by  him  christened 
Cara  Dillingham  Cooper,  in  honor  of  the  young  lady  whom 
he  subsequently  married.  This  became  a  matter  of  serious 
conversation  among  a  few  young  women  of  the  village,  who 
were  in  doubt  as  to  the  precise  construction  the  incident  de 
manded.  It  was  generally  accepted,  however,  as  announcing 
his  engagement  to  Cara  Dillingham,  and,  with  the  majority, 
added  to  his  popularity.  They  praised  him  for  what  they 
regarded  as  an  open  manner  of  divulging  and  honoring  a  se 
cret  which,  dwelling  so  distant,  could  have  been  discovered 
in  no  other  manner. 


75 


A  PARTNERSHIP. 


Shortly  after  returning  to  Beloit  Carpenter  formed  a  part 
nership  with  Hazen  Cheney,  and  was  at  about  the  same  time 
nominated  for  and  afterward  duly  elected  district  attorney. 
Business  began  to  return  with  unexpected  liberality,  and  in  a 
brief  period  he  was  one  of  the  busiest  attorneys  in  the  county. 
He  took  but  a  small  part  in  politics,  attended  vigorously  to 
his  profession,  and  in  less  than  a  year  had  cleared  away  his 
smaller  debentures  and  begun  to  reduce  his  obligations  to 
Choate  and  Crowninshield,  in  addition  to  giving  liberally  to 
the  various  charities  of  the  time  and  place. 

Thus  he  went  on  growing  in  popularity  as  a  citizen  and  in 
demand  as  a  successful  lawyer,  until  his  business  extended 
into  all  the  adjoining  counties,  and  to  Dubuque,  Milwaukee 
and  Chicago.  Having  risen  above  most  of  his  debts,  and 
having,  as  he  thought,  formed  a  pretty  firm  friendship  with 
prosperity,  Carpenter  went  east  in  1855  to  claim  his  bride, 
and  on  November  27th  was  married  to  Caroline  (Cara), 
youngest  daughter  of  Paul  Dillingham.  This  was  an  im 
portant  event  in  the  social  history  of  Beloit,  as  the  groom 
was  perhaps  the  most  conspicuous  figure  in  the  place,  and 
the  bride  the  daughter  of  a  distinguished  and  well-known 
citizen  of  Vermont.  Discovering  at  an  early  day  that  per 
haps  sooner  or  later  he  would  be  compelled  to  seek  a  wider 
field  of  business,  Carpenter  purchased  no  permanent  resi 
dence  in  Beloit,  and  therefore,  until  1858,  when  he  removed 
to  Milwaukee,  he  and  his  wife  had  rooms  and  board  in  the 
leading  hotel  of  the  place,  where  their  first  child  was  born. 

BUNDY'S  RECOLLECTIONS. 

Jonas  M.  Bundy,  editor  of  the  New  York  Post  and  Mail, 
has  been  mentioned  as  one  of  Carpenter's  companions  during 
the  vicissitudes  of  his  early  life  in  Beloit.  This  chapter, 


76  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

therefore,  can  be  closed  no  more  fitly  than  by  extracts  from 
a  letter  describing  that  period: 

NEW  YORK,  September  10,  1883. 

DEAR  SIR:  —  I  think,  in  fact  I  am  sure,  I  never  was  so  much  filled  with 
admiration  for  any  man  on  first  sight,  in  my  life,  as  I  was  with  Carpenter 
when  he  first  dawned  on  my  boyish  vision  in  1848  in  Beloit.  Even  those 
who  knew  him  twenty  or  twenty-five  years  ago  can  hardly  comprehend 
how  winningly,  magnetically  handsome  he  was  before  a  prolonged  disease 
of  the  eyes  dimmed  the  beauty  of  what  at  one  time  was  the  most  attractive 
feature  of  a  man  singularly  endowed  with  every  attribute  of  a  splendid 
physique.  Tall,  erect,  with  the  fine  military  bearing  that  he  had  acquired 
at  West  Point  and  had  cultivated  since,  with  a  freshness,  buoyancy  and 
rollicking  sense  of  humor  running  out  in  all  directions,  with  a  laugh  the 
most  musical  and  a  smile  the  most  fascinating  that  I  had  ever  known,  the 
young  lawyer  at  once  captivated  all  classes  in  that  little  New  England 
town,  which  then  and  afterward  was  admirably  calculated  to  stimulate  the 
best  qualities  of  the  intellectual  and  ambitious.  Boy  as  I  was  at  that  time, 
it  was  not  long  before  I  was  taken  into  the  confidence  and  friendship  of 
Carpenter,  and  from  that  time  until  the  day  of  his  death  there  never  was  a 
moment  when  either  one  of  us  could  not,  on  the  shortest  notice,  have 
called  upon  and  had  either  for  any  service  or  effort  within  his  power. 

From  the  first,  the  large-hearted  generosity  of  the  man  was  evident.  He 
had  none  of  that  art  which  enables  some  lawyers  to  manage  their  friend 
ships  so  that  they  pay.  From  the  first,  many  of  his  friends  were  among 
those  who  were  not  only  poor,  but  destined  to  remain  so  during  their  nat 
ural  existence,  and  it  was  for  such  people  that  his  life  was  largely  spent. 
The  men  who  were  most  sure  to  retain  his  best  efforts  and  most  courage- 
ous  advocacy  were  those  who  belonged  to  the  class  he  always  designated 
as  "  the  Lord's  poor." 

Spending,  as  I  did,  a  great  deal  of  time  at  Carpenter's  office  and  in  his 
rooms,  where  we  pursued  the  same  course  of  reading,  I  had  opportunities 
of  seeing  how  firmly  he  laid  the  foundations  of  that  lucid  and  powerful 
style  of  legal  argument  which  afterward  so  captivated  the  justices  of  the 
United  States  supreme  court  and  such  great  lawyers  as  Edwin  M.  Stanton 
and  Jeremiah  S.  Black.  In  drawing  up  the  most  ordinary  brief,  Carpenter 
was  never  satisfied  with  the  words  that  he  had  first  written,  but  kept  con 
tinually  working  out  through  the  dictionaries  or  the  works  of  standard 
authors  the  most  certain  and  exact  shades  of  meaning  which  he  desired  to 
express. 

Of  course,  the  great  affliction  which  fell  upon  him,  in  the  spring  of  his 
manhood,  in  the  almost  total  loss  of  eye-sight,  was  one  of  the  inscrutable 
dispensations  of  Providence  which  will  never  be  forgotten  by  those  who 


77 

knew  Carpenter  at  that  trying  time.  I  might  say  a  great  deal  about  that 
period  ot  his  life  which  probably  will  never  be  published.  I  shall,  how 
ever,  only  say  quite  emphatically,  that  I  know  nothing  in  regard  to  the 
private  life  of  any  of  my  friends  who  have  become  famous  which  showed 
such  a  combination  of  pluck,  patience  and  endurance,  coupled  with  trials 
of  the  most  heart-rending  character,  as  were  triumphantly  endured  by  Car 
penter  at  that  time.  For  many  months  he  was  confined  to  a  room  in  this 
city,  not  only  nearly  blind,  but  with  little  prospect  of  ever  seeing  again,  and 
dependent  almost  entirely  upon  the  aid  furnished  him  from  time  to  time 
by  his  great  friend  and  instructor,  Rufus  Choate.  I  have  many  times 
talked  with  Carpenter  about  that  terrible  period  of  blindness  and  almost 
entire  helplessness.  He  often  told  me  that  he  regarded  that  time  of  trial 
as  one  in  which  there  was  formed  in  him  more  character,  more  of  a  feeling 
of  necessity  for  trust  in  God,  of  the  vanity  of  human  ambition,  of  the  ten 
derness  of  unselfish  human  love,  of  the  pricelessness  of  the  affections  and 
sentiment,  that  were  only  strengthened  and  made  more  fervent  by  afflictions, 
separation  and  almost  utter  hopelessness. 

Yours,  now  and  hereafter, 

J.  M.  BUNDY. 


78  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

FAIR,  WHITE  MILWAUKEE. 

After  his  appearance  for  the  respondent  in  the  Bashford- 
Barstow  quo  warranto  case,  in  1856,  which  we  shall  soon  exam 
ine,  Carpenter's  most  lucrative  engagements  began  to  come 
from  parties  outside  of  Beloit.  These  causes  were  gener 
ally  for  trial  in  the  supreme  court  of  Wisconsin,  the  United 
States  district  and  United  States  circuit  courts,  and  the  cir 
cuit  court  for  Milwaukee  county.  Beloit  was  in  the  extreme 
southern  portion  of  the  state,  away  from  courts  of  every 
kind,  and  so  situated  that  she  would  always  continue  in  that 
condition,  which  necessitated  for  Carpenter  almost  continuous 
absence  from  home.  He  therefore  resolved  upon  removing 
to  some  larger  and  more  central  business  point.  Some  at 
tempt  was  made  to  draw  him  to  Chicago,  but  it  was  not 
seriously  considered.  He  already  had  a  large  practice  in 
Milwaukee,  and  as  that  point  was  then,  and  in  all  probability 
would  forever  remain,  the  commercial  metropolis  of  the 
state,  he  determined  to  make  that  his  permanent  home.  But 
the  date  of  removal  for  some  time  after  a  change  of  base 
was  discussed  remained  undecided,  and  perhaps  might  never 
have  come  to  material  result,  except  for  a  romantic  incident 
which  proved  in  his  case  to  be  that 

Tide  in  the  affairs  of  men 
Which,  taken  at  its  flood,  leads  on  to  fortune. 

During  his  first  year  in  Beloit  he  made  a  speech  on  the 
license  question.  Among  his  listeners  was  Newcomb 
Cleveland,  of  New  York.  Subsequently  Cleveland  became 
interested  in  the  contract  for  constructing  the  Milwaukee  & 
La  Crosse  Railway,  and  finally  a  trouble  that  arose  between 
him  and  the  railway  corporation  became  so  important  that 
he  resolved  to  bring  suit  for  damages  in  the  sum  of  $150,000. 
On  a  pleasant  morning  of  the  summer  of  1858,  as  Carpen- 


FAIR,  WHITE    MILWAUKEE.  79 

ter  sat  in  the  open  window  of  his  office  reading  a  maga 
zine,  Cleveland,  a  stranger,  entered  and  greeted  him  by 
name.  After  a  brief  conversation  the  visitor  related  that  he 
had  decided  to  begin  litigation  against  the  railway  company 
and  that  he  desired  to  place  the  sole  management  of  the 
case  in  Carpenter's  hands.  When  an  arrangement  to  this 
effect  had  been  agreed  upon,  Carpenter  was  informed  that 
his  engagement  was  the  result  of  the  brief  argument  made 
years  before  on  the  license  question.  "  I  was  then,"  said 
Cleveland,  "  so  thoroughly  impressed  with  your  clear  rea 
soning  and  solid  conclusions  that  I  determined  you  should 
have  exclusive  charge  of  my  first  important  law  suit.  I 
have  kept  my  resolution." 

As  soon  after  that  as  he  could  settle  his  affairs,  Carpenter 
removed  to  Milwaukee  and  began  that  flood  of  railroad  liti 
gation  which  he  fought  in  all  the  courts,  high  and  low,  until 
his  death,  some  of  which  is  now  as  far  from  settlement  as 
ever.  His  success  was  such  that  Cleveland  engaged  him  to 
conduct  his  railway  and  other  actions  for  a  period  of  ten 
years  at  $6,000  per  year.  The  attorneys  who  opposed  him 
were  the  best  in  the  land,  yet  he  combated  them  all  in  the 
vast  domain  of  corporate  powers,  rights  and  limits,  without 
aid  or  counsel,  and  with  such  signal  ability  as  gave  him  a 
national  reputation.  Twenty  years  later,  in  illustrating  how 
the  current  of  a  man's  life  may  be  changed  by  the  slightest 
incident,  he  said:  "If  it  had  not  been  for  that  little  speech 
on  the  license  question  I  probably  would  have  continued  in 
Beloit  for  some  years,  perhaps  during  the  remainder  of  my 
life.  If  I  had  remained  there  I  never  should  have  been  en 
gaged  in  the  McCardle  case  and  never  should  have  been  sena 
tor.  Cleveland  brought  me  into  a  wider  field,  and  then  I  studied 
as  no  man  ever  before  studied  to  carry  his  litigation  through 
successfully.  That  license  speech  was  the  turning-point  of 
my  life  and  made  me  all  that  I  am." 

Before  the  Cleveland  engagement,  however,  Josiah  A. 
Noonan,  one  of  the  great  political  engines  of  the  Wisconsin 


80  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

democracy,  had  seen  and  admired  Carpenter.  He  was  also 
a  firm  friend  of  E.  G.  Ryan,  and  conceived  the  idea  of  get 
ting  those  two  brilliant  attorneys  into  one  firm,  with  head 
quarters  in  Milwaukee.  Therefore,  after  the  railway  liti 
gation  mentioned  had  begun,  he  went  to  Carpenter  and 
suggested  that  the  little  city  of  Beloit  could  never  grow  to  a 
place  of  great  importance;  that  Milwaukee  was  and  always 
would  be  a  much  broader  and  richer  field  for  professional 
labor  and  success ;  that  the  various  managers,  contractors, 
stockholders  and  bondholders  of  the  railways  were  becoming 
more  and  more  involved  in  a  multiplicity  and  complexity  of 
transactions,  out  of  which  endless  litigation  would  grow,  and 
that  he  should  return  home  and  prepare  at  once  for  per 
manent  removal  to  Milwaukee  and  a  partnership  with  Ryan. 
Carpenter  replied  that  he  was  satisfied  the  railway  com 
plications  would  soon  make  a  large  amount  of  business  for 
the  lawyers;  that  he  was  favorably  impressed  with  Mil 
waukee  and  her  prospects,  that  he  already  had  contem 
plated  leaving  Beloit,  and  that  if  satisfactory  terms  with 
Ryan  could  be  arranged,  he  would  make  the  change  at  once. 
This  was  in  August,  and  a  few  weeks  later  the  partnership 
articles  were  agreed  upon,  and  Carpenter  and  his  family 
removed  permanently  to  Milwaukee.  They  took  up  their 
residence  in  what  was  then  the  largest  and  finest  hotel  in 
the  northwest,  the  Newhall  House,1  and  continued  to  make 
it  their  home  foi  some  years.  In  1869  Carpenter  rented,  and 
during  the  following  year  purchased,  the  brick  house  on 
Van  Buren  street  which  then  became,  and  has  since  con 
tinued  to  be,  the  family  residence. 

•  In  his  new  home  personal  acquaintances  and  friendships 
were  formed  rapidly,  for  Carpenter  was  already  a  well- 
known  and  clearly-defined  figure  in  the  public  eye,  and  his 
social  and  popular  career  in  Milwaukee  was  but  a  repetition 
of  that  at  Beloit  on  an  enlarged  scale.  He  eschewed  politics 
entirely  until  1860,  when  he  made  a  few  public  speeches  for 

1  Destroyed  by  fire  January  10,  1883,  with  eighty  human  lives. 


FAIR,  WHITE    MILWAUKEE.  8 1 

Douglas,  and  devoted  himself,  it  seemed  to  those  who 
watched  his  labors,  with  more  than  human  vigor  to  his  pro 
fession.  Nevertheless,  he  found  time  to  meet  with  social 
and  literary  gatherings,  and  when  his  fascinating  conversa 
tional  powers  and  literary  accomplishments  became  fully 
known,  few  occasions  of  that  sort  passed  without  attempts 
to  secure  his  presence,  though  they  did  not  always  succeed. 
Chapters  might  be  written  of  his  popularity  with  all 
classes  in  the  "  Cream  City  " —  young  and  old,  high  and  low, 
German  and  Irish,  Christian  and  Saracen,  republican  and 
democrat  —  but  it  is  not  necessary  to  do  it  here.  The  fact 
appears  more  clearly  in  connection  with  various  incidents  of 
his  public  life,  as  related  in  subsequent  pages,  than  could  be 
shown  by  mere  description.  The  story  may  be  condensed, 
however,  into  a  single  sentence:  Nothing  like  it  was  ever 
known  in  Wisconsin  —  perhaps  in  the  Union.  His  many 
public  references,  therefore,  to  "fair,  white  Milwaukee" 
were  always  tender.  He  loved  the  place  and  its  people,  and 
long  before  the  shadow  of  death  fell  across  his  pathway, 
expressed  the  wish  that  there,  in  the  quiet,  shaded  aisles  of 
Forest  Home,  by  the  side  of  his  beloved  children,  his  ashes 
might  at  last  be  laid  to  their  final  rest,  lulled  by  Lake 

Michigan's  eternal  murmurs. 
6 


82  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

BEGINNING  THE  LAW. 

The  covers  of  no  ordinary  volume  would  contain  the  de 
tails  of  the  career  of  Carpenter  as  a  lawyer,  for  he  was 
pre-eminently  that,  though  his  labors  as  a  senator,  reconstruc- 
tionist  and  supporter  of  the  Union  during  the  Rebellion, 
brought  nearly  all  the  popular  fame  his  name  enjoyed.  He 
left  his  father's  roof  for  the  purpose  of  following  the  foot 
steps  of  Erskine  and  John  Marshall;  returned  from  West 
Point,  where  he  had  attained  an  enviable  position  in  his  class, 
in  order  that  the  expanding  genius  of  an  enthusiastic  lawyer 
might  not  be  withered  and  destroved  by  the  forced,  uncon 
genial  marches  of  the  regular  army;  studied  with  rare  dili 
gence  at  Dillingham's,  having  the  fame  of  Daniel  Webster, 
Jeremiah  Mason  and  Rufus  Choate  steadily  in  view;  jour 
neyed  to  Boston  to  sit  beneath  the  savory  teachings  of 
Choate  and  discover  the  secrets  of  his  abundant  success; 
delved  into  the  uttermost  recesses  of  human  lore  that  no 
competitor  might  distance  him  in  the  use  of  apt  and  correct 
knowledge;  turned  his  back  on  the  classic  and  historic  at 
tractions  of  Massachusetts,  because  the  expanding  west 
would  afford  a  wider  and  more  fruitful  field  for  the  growth 
of  his  ability  and  ambition ;  and  explored,  as  long  as  he  lived, 
every  new  realm  of  legal  literature,  at  home  and  abroad, 
that  no  correct  principle  or  wholesome  doctrine  governing 
the  eternal  search  for  equity  and  the  just  settlement  of  the 
controversies  of  mortals  might  escape  him.  Thus  he  was  a 
lawyer  before  he  was  a  public  servant  or  a  public  character, 
and  it  is  therefore  proper  to  first  devote  some  attention  to  his 
professional  career. 

Carpenter  always  defended  his  professional  character, 
while  other  attacks  were  passed  by  without  notice.  When 
the  cataclysm  of  political  slander  poured  its  poisonous  streams 


BEGINNING   THE   LAW.  83 

upon  him,  he  was  fully  consoled  with  the  cheerful  remark: 
"  Well,  I  have  never  yet  been  accused  of  being  a  bad  law 
yer."  When  his  fellows  in  the  senate  evolved  sophistical 
theories  or  high-sounding  clap-trap,  or  advocated  an  uncon 
stitutional  measure,  he  would  say  that  being  "  only  a  lawyer  " 
he  must  oppose  them,  and  close  by  begging  to  be  "spared 
from  degenerating  into  a  mere  statesman."  One  of  the 
things  that  more  than  any  other  exasperated  Charles  Sum- 
ner  was  Carpenter's  frequent  taunt:  "  My  friend  from  Mas 
sachusetts,  once  a  sound  and  upright  lawyer,  has  been 
degraded  by  public  life  to  the  blase  purlieus  of  a  common 
statesman,  as  may  be  observed  by  the  unsound  views  he  is 
advocating."  He  regarded  a  learned  and  conscientious 
lawyer  as  the  only  true  and  safe  law-making  statesman.  It 
was  well  known  that  James  G.  Elaine  was  not  and  never 
had  been  a  lawyer.  Therefore,  when  he  essayed  to  speak  on 
a  legal  question,  the  mode  of  ridicule  that  gave  Carpenter 
the  most  abundant  relish  was  that  of  ironically  praising  the 
senator  from  Maine  as  "beyond  all  comparison  a  distin 
guished  and  learned  attorney."  As  Burns  was  displeased 
with  any  title  save  that  of  poet  or  Highland  bard,  so  Car 
penter  desired  no  title  of  distinguishment  beyond  that  of 
law-giver. 

It  was  originally  the  conception  of  Paul  Dillingham  that 
Carpenter  should  become  a  lawyer;  but  it  was  the  splendor 
of  Daniel  Webster's  fame  which  gave  birth  to  that  infatua 
tion  for  the  profession  which  retained  possession  of  him  to 
the  last  day  of  his  life.  Webster  was,  in  his  time,  the  only 
man  who  successfully  sat  in  the  senate  of  the  United  States 
and  at  the  same  time  carried  on  a  large  practice  before  the 
United  States  supreme  and  other  courts.  Carpenter's  ambi 
tion  was  to  equal  Webster  in  that  respect,  and  he  accom 
plished  it.  After  1870  he  was  equally  busy  and  successful 
in  the  senate  chamber  and  the  chamber  of  the  supreme 
court,  carrying  a  multiplicity  of  burdens  in  both. 

Let  us  begin  at  the  beginning  and  trace  Carpenter's  pro- 


84  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

fessional  growth.  At  Dillingham's  he  was  trusted  with 
drafting  legal  documents  and  trying  petty  cases  before  jus 
tices  of  the  peace.  His  papers  were  ever  drawn  with  perfect 
neatness  and  literary  taste,  and  Dillingham  was  in  the  habit 
of  exhibiting  them  with  pride  as  models  of  their  kind. 

WHIPS  HIS  GRANDFATHER. 

The  first  suit  before  a  justice,  or  any  other  judicial  tribu 
nal,  that  he  undertook  to  conduct  without  the  aid  or  presence 
of  friends,  wras  in  1841,  when  between  sixteen  and  seventeen 
years  of  age.  A  jeweler  had  lost  a  quantity  of  goods,  and 
brought  suit  before  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  Moretown  to 
recover  possession.  Cephas  Carpenter,  the  boy's  grand 
father,  had  been  engaged  by  the  defense,  and  was  probably 
instrumental  in  having  the  prosecution  engage  Merritt  to 
oppose  him,  for  he  was  exceedingly  proud  of  his  brilliant 
young  grandson,  and  lost  no  opportunity  of  pushing  him  for 
ward.  The  case  came  to  trial  in  the  old  school-house  at 
Moretown.  The  building  was  crowded  with  neighbors  and 
friends,  all  eager  to  witness  so  novel  a  spectacle  as  a  contest 
between  a  fearless  and  hard-striking  old  advocate  of  seventy 
and  his  stripling  grandson  of  sixteen.  Merritt's  brother  and 
sisters,  with  dozens  of  his  former  schoolmates  and  childhood 
acquaintances,  gathered  under  the  windows  of  the  scarred 
temple  of  learning  and  justice,  as  the  only  available  stations 
whence  they  could  observe  the  proceedings  on  the  inside; 
and  these  openings  were  closely  occupied  during  the  entire 
day  and  until  the  verdict  was  rendered.  Cephas  Carpenter 
resorted  to  all  the  feints  and  maneuvres  that  he  thought 
would  be  likely  to  bring  the  metal  and  ingenuity  of  his 
grandson  to  view,  and  thus  made  the  trial,  on  his  part,  one  of 
more  than  ordinary  interest  and  display  of  ability.  The  con 
flict  was  protracted  as  long  as  possible  by  the  grandfather,  in 
order  to  test  his  youthful  adversary  at  every  point,  but  the 
verdict  was  against  him.  All  tongues  were  busy  in  More- 
town  that  evening,  for  a  sixteen-year-old  boy  had  compassed 


CARPENTER   AGAINST   EDMUNDS.  85 

the  defeat  of  the  oldest  and  most  noted  justice-court  advocate 
in  Washington  county.  For  his  fee,  young  Carpenter  re 
ceived  a  gold  ring,  which  he  soon  after  gave  to  his  sister 
Anna,  by  whom  it  is  still  worn  and  cherished. 

During  the  year  following  his  first  suit,  or  when  he  was 
seventeen,  Merritt  compiled  the  evidence,  applied  the  law, 
and  prepared  the  papers  asking  a  pension  for  his  grand 
mother,  as  the  widow  of  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution.  He 
succeeded  in  securing  the  annuity.  This  was  a  conception 
of  his  own,  after  learning  that  the  grandfather  on  his 
mother's  side  fought  against  the  British,  and  was  carried  to 
fruition  without  aid,  greatly  to  his  youthful  glory  in  that  sec 
tion. 

At  various  times  afterward,  Cephas  Carpenter  tried  petty 
suits  against  his  grandson,  always  managing  the  cases  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  best  develop  the  boy's  skill  at  nisiprms.  There 
are  perhaps  no  instances  on  record,  where  the  successful 
practice  of  an  attorney  dates  back  to  his  seventeenth  year,  or 
where  a  fledgling  of  seventeen  triumphantly  prosecuted  his 
first  pension  claim  against  the  federal  government.  It  should 
be  added,  however,  that  the  first  of  his  early  business  was 
obtained  for  him  by  his  grandfather,  who  always  predicted 
that  Merritt  would  make  a  great  lawyer.  This  course  was 
like  that  of  the  shrewd  old  cat,  who,  desirous  that  her  kittens 
should  turn  out  good  mousers,  gave  them  an  early  taste  of 

blood. 

CARPENTER   AGAINST   EDMUNDS. 

Young  Carpenter's  first  professional  engagement,  after 
returning  from  West  Point,  was  made  early  in  1846,  when 
he  was  between  twenty-one  and  twenty-two  years  of  age. 
The  opposing  counsel  was  no  less  than  Geo.  F.  Edmunds, 
then  living  at  Richmond,  something  like  twenty  miles  down 
the  Winooski  river.  The  two  fledglings,  each  afraid  of  the 
other,  met  in  a  little,  gray  wooden  school-house  in  the  town 
of  Bolton,  in  a  gap  of  the  Green  mountains,  and  half-way 
from  Waterbury  to  Richmond.  The  suit,  small  as  it  really 
was,  attracted  no  little  attention  from  the  peasants  of  the 


86  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

neighborhood,  and  the  artless  but  attentive  audience  was 
present,  until  far  into  the  night,  to  listen  to  the  forensic 
efforts,  the  sharp  retorts,  and  the  crude  legerdemain  of  the 
young  Blackstones.  In  his  memorial  address  to  the  senate 
in  1 88 1,  Mr.  Edmunds  thus  referred  to  that  spirited  contest 
amidst  the  lofty  grandeur  and  quiet  solitude  of  the  Green 
mountains: 

Carpenter's  birth-place  and  the  home  of  his  youthful  days  was  only  a 
dozen  miles  from  the  town  of  my  own  nativity,  the  hills  of  which  I  can 
still  see  from  my  present  home,  and  we  first  met,  when  we  were  both  very 
young  and  studying  law,  at  a  small  school-house  situated  in  the  very  heart 
of  the  mountains,  to  contend  through  the  whole  day  and  night  for  the 
rights  of  our  respective  clients  in  a  very  small  affair,  before  a  farmer  justice 
of  the  peace  and  a  jury  of  six. 

Although  the  instances  cited  cover  his  first  management 
of  formal  trials,  they  do  not  include  young  Carpenter's  first 
appearance  in  court  under  fee  and  in  response  to  a  regular 
engagement.  A  matter  of  some  moment  was  pending,  when 
he  was  sixteen,  before  a  mountain  justice  of  the  peace  and  a 
rural  jury,  and  he  was  engaged  as  "  of  counsel."  He  re 
ceived  the  interesting  fee  of  fifty  cents,  the  first  lucre  earned 
in  the  legal  profession  that  ever  enriched  his  palms.  His 
duties  were  thus  set  forth  when  the  retainer  was  passed: 
"  When  the  other  side  makes  a  point,  just  look  as  sour  and 
glum  as  you  can ;  but  when  ive  gain  a  score,  you  just  cheer 
and  stamp  like  the  devil."  The  instructions  were  obeyed 
strictly,  at  least  fifty  cents  in  shoe-leather  being  stamped  out. 
The  effectiveness  of  this  peculiar  affair  will  be  fully  appreci 
ated  by  those  professional  men  who  can  remember  that  in 
early  years  the  applause  and  approbation  of  the  crowd  often 
had  more  influence  in  bringing  a  verdict  from  the  jury  than 
all  the  evidence  of  witnesses  and  the  oratory  of  attorneys. 

A.  V.  H.  Carpenter,  a  relative  of  the  subject  of  this  mem 
oir,  and  an  early  student  and  practitioner  of  the  law  in  Ver 
mont,  relates: 

Matt.  H.  Carpenter  and  myself  were  born  in  adjoining  towns.  I  had 
completed  my  law  studies  while  he  was  yet  a  student.  We  were  both  at 
our  original  homes  on  a  visit,  and  chanced  to  meet  at  an  intermediate 


FIRST   CAUSE   IN    WISCONSIN.  87 

point  where  an  important  examination  upon  a  complaint  setting  forth 
forgery  was  in  progress  before  a  magistrate.  Matt.,  in  a  manner  that  I  do 
not  now  recollect,  was  asked  to  assist  the  prosecuting  attorney,  and  I  was 
retained  by  the  respondent,  as  his  attorney  was  from  western  New  York 
and  not  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  court  usages  of  Vermont.  Matt,  and 
I  were  well  acquainted  with  each  other,  and  I  recollect  that  at  the  conclu 
sion  of  the  examination  he  said  he  had  never  before  made  an  argument 
before  a  court. 

Whether  this  was  before  or  after  the  cases  already  men 
tioned  is  of  no  consequence.  The  fact  intended  to  be  con 
veyed  in  the  letter  is  that  young  Carpenter  had  never 
appeared  before  a  magistrate  simply  to  make  a  special  ar 
gument. 

FIRST  CAUSE  IN  WISCONSIN. 

Although  he  tried  numerous  small  matters  very  success 
fully,  and  was  well  known  in  Washington  county  as  a  bright 
young  man,  Carpenter  did  not  trust  himself,  while  in  Vermont, 
to  take  a  case  higher  than  the  court  of  a  justice  of  the  peace, 
and  while  with  Rufus  Choate  entered  upon  no  practice  except 
that  of  drafting  legal  papers  and  attending  to  miscellaneous 
office  business,  as  heretofore  mentioned.  He  removed  to 
Beloit  to  begin  the  regular  practice  of  his  profession.  His 
first  appearance  in  a  Wisconsin  court  was  at  the  June  term 
of  the  United  States  district  court  at  Janesville.  He  was 
also  present  in  Janesville  at  the  organization  of  the  circuit 
court  system  of  the  new  state,  and  from  his  knowledge  of 
practice  in  older  states,  was  able  to  make  many  valuable  sug 
gestions  to  the  newly-chosen  judge,  Edward  V.  Whiton, 
afterwards  chief  justice  of  the  Wisconsin  supreme  court. 

His  first  case  after  settling  in  Beloit  was  heard  before  a 
justice  of  the  peace  at  a  point  in  Rock  county,  ten  or  a  dozen 
miles  above  Beloit.  A  farmer  named  Ebenezer  N.  Baldwin 
came  down  in  search  of  a  lawyer,  and,  observing  Carpenter's 
sign,  entered  the  office  and  made  known  his  errand.  Of 
course  he  could  "  go  at  once,"  and  in  five  minutes  the  young 
attorney  was  seated  beside  the  farmer  on  the  hewed  poles 
which  constituted  the  box  of  a  lumber  wagon,  and  thus  jolted 


88  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

over  the  rough,  unworked  roads  of  a  new  country.  As  the 
twain  ascended  the  valley  of  the  river  the  farmer  recited  all 
the  facts  and  circumstances  of  his  case,  and  when  they  ar 
rived  at  the  office  of  the  justice  Carpenter  was  ready  for  trial. 
Who  opposed  him,  or  what  the  cause  of  litigation  was,  is 
wrapt  in  obscurity.  Late  at  night  the  cause  was  ended  and 
the  farmer  brought  Carpenter  back  to  Beloit.  On  inquiring 
of  him  what  fee  and  charges  were  to  be  paid,  Carpenter 
replied:  '*  Oh,  I  guess  about  a  dollar."  The  smallness  of  the 
fee  might  lead  to  the  supposition  that  he  was  defeated,  but  the 
accompanying  letter  proves  the  contrary: 

AFTON,  WISCONSIN,  August,  1883. 

DEAR  SIR  :  —  In  July,  1848,  I  sued  Cyrus  Woodbridge  before  a  justice  or" 
the  peace.  Matt,  conducted  the  suit  —  the  first  he  had  in  Wisconsin.  He 
won  the  case,  and  when  I  asked  him  what  his  charges  were,  he  answered : 
"  One  dollar."  I  asked  if  that  was  enough,  and  he  said:  "Oh,  I  guess  so." 
You  did  not  ask  concerning  anything  but  that  early  suit,  but  I  can  not  re 
frain  from  adding  that  Matt,  was  one  of  the  best  lawyers  and  best  citizens 
that  ever  lived.  He  was  an  open-hearted,  generous  man.  He  was  a  great 
friend  to  the  poor,  and  would  rather  give  his  last  dollar  than  see  them 
suffer.  They  all  loved  him,  and  I  loved  him,  too. 

Respectfully, 

EBENEZER  N.  BALDWIN. 

The  first  case  Carpenter  had  in  the  circuit  court  was 
brought  on  a  writ  of  certiorari  in  the  matter  of  T.  C.  Demary, 
plaintiff  in  error,  vs.  J.  P.  Oilman,  defendant  in  error,  and 
judgment  in  his  favor,  reversing  the  decree  of  the  justice, 
was  entered  early  in  1849.  He  was  then  twenty-four  years 
of  age. 

The  first  case  taken  by  him  to  the  supreme  court  of  Wis 
consin  was  that  of  Kirby  vs.  Martin.  The  suit  was  origi 
nally  brought  for  the  plaintiff  to  recover  the  value  of  a  horse 
in  the  sum  of  $40.  The  defendant  carried  the  case,  having 
been  defeated  before  a  justice  of  the  peace,  to  the  circuit 
court  of  Rock  county,  and  there  succeeded  in  securing  a 
judgment  of  reversal.  Carpenter  appealed,  for  his  client,  to 
the  supreme  court,  filing  the  papers  May  i,  1852.  The  case 


AN   AUGUST   BODY.  89 

was  argued  on  June  23d  and  decided  June  2pth  of  that  year, 
in  his  favor.  This  gave  him  something  of  a  standing  for 
judicial  learning,  as  it  was  generally  held  by  his  legal  breth 
ren  in  Rock  county  that  he  had  taken  a  wrong  position  in 
the  case  and  would  be  defeated. 

AN  AUGUST  BODY. 

The  first  case  Carpenter  carried  to  the  supreme  court  of 
the  United  States  was  that  of  Bronson  and  Soutter,  trustees, 
vs.  The  La  Crosse  &  Milwaukee  Railway  Company  et  aL, 
in  which,  February  20,  1863,  he  argued  a  motion  to  dismiss 
the  cross-appeal  of  other  parties.  On  February  2,  1864,  he 
appeared  before  the  same  court,  in  the  same  matter,  for 
complainants,  to  make  an  argument  on  the  merits  of  the  case. 
In  one  sense  he  was  victorious,  and  in  another  he  was  not. 
The  court  held  that  the  United  States  district  court,  from 
which  the  appeal  was  taken,  exceeded  its  jurisdiction,  but 
decided,  "  for  the  present,"  to  withhold  the  remedy.  This 
case  was,  in  many  respects,  the  most  extraordinary  that  had 
been  taken  to  the  United  States  supreme  court.  Its  inter 
minable  complications,  the  charges  of  collusion  and  fraud, 
and  the  voluminous  papers  brought  with  it,  gave  the  court  a 
severe  test,  and  completely  confused  all  the  laymen  before 
whose  attention  it  came.  Justice  Nelson,  in  delivering  the 
opinion  of  the  court,  admitted  this  by  characterizing  it  as  a 
"  most  complicated,  difficult  and  severely  contested  cause." 
John  William  Wallace,  the  famous  reporter  of  the  court,  was 
compelled  to  admit,  in  a  note  on  page  411,  of  i  Wallace's 
Reports,  that  he  was  unable  to  make  a  clear  and  full  report 
of  a  case  in  which  the  record  consisted  of  over  one  thousand 
octavo  pages  of  closely  printed  matter,  and  the  discussion  of 
which  by  counsel  occupied  "  no  small  fraction  of  a  five  months' 
term."  To  prepare  and  fight  through  this  cause,  which  trav 
eled  in  so  many  new  fields  and  untrodden  paths,  must  have 
required  an  almost  inconceivable  amount  of  labor  and  re 
search.  In  its  conduct  Carpenter  won  from  the  bench  and 
from  his  eminent  professional  brethren  great  praise  for  learn- 


pO  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

ing  and  ability.  The  subjoined  tender  letter  to  Mrs.  Car 
penter,  written  late  on  Saturday  evening,  February  6,  1864, 
after  the  first  case  had  been  given  to  the  court,  discloses  the 
labors  and  excitement  of  that  period: 

MY  DEAR  WIFE: — I  have  just  returned  from  the  theater,  where  Vesta- 
yalli  has  again  been  acting  the  man.  I  still  think  she  is  splendid. 

I  have  passed  an  exciting  week,  and  am  dreadfully  tired  at  its  close.  I 
have  succeeded,  you  will  be  glad  to  know,  even  better  than  I  anticipated. 
******  My  argument  in  the  supreme  court  has 
made  considerable  remark  and  elicited  high  praise  from  high  sources.  The 
congratulations  and  compliments  that  have  been  showered  upon  me  for  the 
last  two  days  are  quite  embarrassing: — even  so,  vain  as  I  am,  and  panting, 
as  I  do  always,  for  the  approbation  that  is  accorded  to  a  good  speech. 

I  think  I  may  say,  without  at  all  over-stating  the  thing,  that  I  made  a 
very  favorable  impression  upon  nine  most  intelligent  and  experienced  gen 
tlemen,  who  are  better  qualified  than  any  other  nine  men  in  America  to 
judge  a  speech  correctly.  You  may  be  sure  I  am  proud  of  it,  and  repeat 
it  to  you  because  I  know  you  will  be  proud  of  it,  too,  though  I  hope  not 
so  vain  about  it  as  I  am. 

********* 

A  volume  of  respectable  proportions  might  be  composed 
on  this  one  case  and  those  of  a  similar  kind  that  followed 
and  grew  out  of  it,  and  involved  the  same  parties.  It  began, 
as  previously  related,  by  Newcomb  Cleveland's  romantic  re 
tainer  of  1858,  and  is  still  pending.  Carpenter's  briefs, 
arguments  and  papers  in  that  behalf,  with  the  answers  to 
them,  comprise  hundreds,  perhaps  thousands,  of  volumes,  and 
in  the  office  of  John  W.  Cary,  solicitor-general  of  the  Chi 
cago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway,  form  a  large  and  val 
uable  library.  It  was  a  torrent  of  litigation  that  brought 
Carpenter  fame,  made  good  lawyers  of  his  numerous  oppo 
nents,  jeopardized  millions  and  millions  of  dollars,  threat 
ened  the  existence  of  heavy  railway  corporations,  occupied 
the  deepest  attention  of  courts  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and 
developed  and  settled  the  great  principles  of  railway  law. 
Its  parallel,  so  far  as  the  matter  itself  or  Carpenter's  part  in 
it  is  concerned,  is  hardly  found  in  the  histo^  of  American 
jurisprudence. 


EXCITEMENT   AT   BELOIT.  9! 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

EXCITEMENT  AT   BELOIT. 

From  the  digression  of  the  preceding  chapter,  let  us  re 
turn  to  Beloit,  where  Carpenter  first  achieved  notoriety  as 
an  attorney  by  engaging  in  some  curious  litigation  involving 
not  only  the  title  to  lands  in  the  village,  but  the  good  will 
and  friendship  of  his  fellow-townsmen.  An  act  of  congress 
of  May  30,  1830,  subsequently  amended,  was  framed  for  the 
purpose  of  preventing  that  speculation  in  village  lots  by  which 
sharpers  had  robbed  many  eastern  capitalists.  It  prohibited 
the  pre-emption  of  public  lands  for  any  other  than  farming 
purposes.  The  New  England  Emigrating  Company,  whose 
members  settled  Beloit,  planned  to  outwit  the  government. 
They  agreed  that  several  persons  whom  they  could  trust 
should  claim  all  the  lands  embraced  in  the  plat  of  the  village, 
with  the  understanding  that  these  parties  should,  after  re 
ceiving  patents  from  the  government,  reconvey  in  lots  to  the 
various  proper  owners.  This  was  carried  out  strictly.  In 
November,  1838,  R.  P.  Crane  filed  his  pre-emption  on  a  cer 
tain  quarter-section,  and  then,  before  receiving  a  patent  from 
the  government,  deeded  the  lots  to  various  parties.  In  the 
land  undergoing  this  jugglery  of  titles  was  a  piece  on  the 
Rock  river  —  which  was  then  considered  navigable  —  set 
apart  for  a  "public  landing;"  but  no  conveyance  having 
been  made  to  the  village,  its  title  remained  in  R.  P.  Crane. 
When  it  came  time  to  bridge  the  river,  the  authorities  pro 
posed  to  exchange  with  one  Brown,  for  land  necessary  for 
one  of  the  approaches  to  the  structure,  a  portion  of  the 
"public  landing."  Brown  agreed  to  the  proposition,  and 
after  the  trade  had  been  consummated  by  an  exchange  of 
deeds,  Carpenter  discovered  that  Crane  and  not  Beloit  was 
the  real  owner  of  the  "public  landing,"  and  that  he,  for  the 
sum  of  $50,  had  some  time  previously  quitclaimed  to  one 


p2  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

Gardner.  Gardner  brought  a  suit  of  ejectment  against  Tis- 
dale  and  Tondro,  occupants  of  that  portion  of  the  "  public 
landing  "  which  Beloit  had  pretended  to  convey  to  Brown, 
and  Brown's  tenants.  Carpenter,  as  attorney  for  Gardner, 
carried  this  case  to  the  supreme  court  and  won  it. 

While  engaged  in  its  preparation,  he  conceived  the  theory 
that  Crane  and  those  engaged  with  him  for  the  purpose 
mentioned,  having  conveyed  the  land  in  Beloit  to  numerous 
persons  before  they  had  received  patents  from  the  govern 
ment,  and  consequently  before  they  themselves  were  the  de 
jure  owners  thereof,  had  made  no  legal  transfer,  and  were 
therefore  the  technical,  if  not  the  rightful,  owners  of  all  the 
lands  pre-empted  by  them  for  themselves  and  their  neigh 
bors.  To  test  this  theory  he  had  Crane  convey  his  entire 
portion  of  the  village  site  to  S.  B.  Cooper,  in  1855;  Cooper 
conveyed  to  J.  L.  Demmon  (Paul  Dillingham's  law  partner), 
and  Demmon  conveyed  to  Dillingham.  An  issue  was  made 
up,  and  Carpenter,  for  Dillingham,  tried  the  title  to  several 
lots  in  the  Rock  county  circuit  court,  where  he  was  defeated. 
He  then  transferred  the  cause  to  the  supreme  court  on  a 
writ  of  error.  Vast  interests  were  involved  and  a  desperate 
fight  must  be  made.  Accordingly,  an  extraordinary  array  of 
legal  talent  was  engaged  on  both  sides.  Carpenter  and  Ed 
ward  G.  Ryan,  with  Rufus  Choate,  of  Boston,  as  counsel, 
were  Dillingham's  attorneys,  while  J.  R.  Doolittle,  of  Wis 
consin,  Daniel  Cady,  of  New  York,  and  Abraham  Lincoln, 
of  Illinois,  prepared  the  defense.  The  practice  of  conveying 
title  before  a  patent  had  been  received  was  a  comparatively 
common  one  in  early  days,  and  the  eyes  of  the  entire  north 
west,  desirous  of  knowing  what  property  had  been  be 
clouded,  were  intently  watching  the  case  and  the  array  of 
giants  gathered  around  it.  The  supreme  court  affirmed  the 
decision  of  the  lower  court,  and  Carpenter's  clients  appealed 
to  the  United  States  supreme  court.  There  a  similar  suit 
from  Louisiana  was  already  on  the  docket,  which,  being 
decided  adversely,  induced  him  to  withdraw  the  action. 


EXCITEMENT   AT   BELOIT.  93 

Beloit,  at  the  date  of  the  commencement  of  this  action,  was 
a  village  of  considerable  wealth  and  pretensions.  The  people, 
therefore,  when  Carpenter  brought  the  title  to  their  real 
estate  into  question,  wrought  themselves  into  a  certain  state 
of  excitement.  Every  community  contains  rash,  headstrong 
characters,  and  of  this  class  Beloit  had  a  small  share.  Their 
counsels  were  various.  Some  thought  Carpenter  should  be 
pursued  with  sticks  and  staves,  others  were  for  personal 
chastisement,  and  others  still  for  inviting  him  to  leave  the  vil 
lage.  While  the  ugly  were  at  their  ugliest,  a  public  meeting 
to  consider  the  matter  was  held,  one  warm  evening,  in  the 
open  space  in  front  of  the  church  known  as  the  "  stone-pile." 
A  large  crowd  was  present,  which  was  addressed  by  Carpen 
ter  from  the  steps  of  the  edifice.  He  explained  the  object 
and  tenor  of  the  entire  matter.  During  the  progress  of  the 
meeting  he  asked  the  hair-brained  members  of  the  crowd 
what  they  proposed  or  imagined  they  could  do  by  a  public 
demonstration  to  settle  a  cause  pending  in  regular  form  be 
fore  an  impartial  judicial  tribunal.  One  old  character 
shouted:  "We  can  hang  you,  can't  we?"  Instantly  Car 
penter  retorted:  "Yes,  indeed,  you  can  hang  me,  but  that 
will  only  settle  me,  the  attorney  in  the  case.  Lynchings  do 
not  destroy  or  transfer  titles,  nor  terminate  vested  rights.  If 
you  should  take  my  life,  every  right  and  title  belonging  to 
me  would  descend  to  my  heirs.  So  my  destruction  would 
make  you  shedders  of  blood,  not  the  givers  of  equity."  The 
chief  desire,  he  then  went  on  to  explain,  was  to  test  the  prac 
tice  of  conveying  lands  before  final  title  had  been  vested  in 
the  party  making  the  conveyance,  and  to  settle  the  title  to 
the  lands  in  Beloit,  so  that  subsequent  deeds  should  be  valid. 
Residents,  he  said,  need  feel  no  alarm.  They  would,  in  case 
his  suit  should  be  won,  be  treated  fairly.  He  should  deed 
to  them  for  such  a  nominal  sum  as  would  cover  the  expense, 
and  pay  for  the  re-survey  he  had  caused  to  be  made.  He 
did  not  care  to  make  anything  out  of  his  friends  and  neigh 
bors,  but,  in  case  of  success,  he  might  squeeze  the  specula- 


94  LTFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

tors,  who,  living  in  other  cities,  held  unimproved  lands  in 
Beloit  for  the  purpose  of  profiting  by  the  industry  and  thrift 
of  its  residents.  Few  men  would  have  had  the  courage  to 
adopt  such  a  course.  It  was  the  first  demonstration  of  inde 
pendence  and  that  peculiar  fearlessness  of  personal  conse 
quences  that  characterized  Carpenter's  entire  life.  More 
than  three-fourths  of  the  people  were  satisfied  with  his  ex 
planation,  and  many  of  them,  even  though  the  suit  had  been 
decided  in  their  favor  in  the  lower  courts,  went  to  him  and 
paid  nominal  sums  for  quitclaim  deeds,  feeling  that  they  had 
received  the  value  of  their  money  in  having  the  real  or  im 
aginary  cloud  forever  removed  from  the  title  to  their  landed 
possessions. 

This  litigation,  which  extended  over  a  considerable  period, 
brought  Carpenter  into  wide  notoriety.  The  case,  as  to  the 
value  of  the  interests  involved,  was  important,  and  to  be  as 
sociated  with  the  best  line  of  legal  talent  from  Boston  to  the 
Father  of  Waters  was  also  a  valuable  professional  honor. 

AN  INCREASING  PRACTICE. 

Carpenter  now  began  to  enjoy  a  very  liberal  practice.  Al 
though  the  youngest  lawyer  in  that  section,  many  important 
causes  found  their  way  into  his  hands.  In  matters  where 
large  property  interests  were  involved,  he  took  charge  of 
them  upon  a  contingent  fee;  that  is,  agreed  to  carry  them 
through  to  final  judgment  with  the  understanding  that,  if 
successful,  he  should  receive  a  certain,  usually  a  fair,  per 
centage  of  the  amount  in  action.  This  plan  had  its  advan 
tages  for  both  client  and  attorney.  It  called  to  the  latter  a 
certain  amount  of  lucrative  business,  and  led  him  to  be  care 
ful  not  to  take  particularly  bad  cases.  At  the  same  time  the 
former  was  comfortable  in  the  belief  that  his  interests  would 
be  more  vigorously  contended  for  than  if  the  contract  were 
such  that  the  lawyer's  fee  would  be  as  great  in  defeat  as  in 
victory. 

His  first  large  fee  under  this  plan  grew  out  of  litigation 


THE    MORMONS.  95 

involving  the  Beloit  water-power.  He  was  victorious,  and 
received  for  his  services  a  tract  of  land  then  worth  $1,200, 
but  which  subsequently  sold  for  a  very  large  sum.  Fol 
lowing  that  were  a  large  number  of  suits  to  determine  ma 
terial  interests  of  great  value,  but  they  came  mostly  from 
points  remote  from  Beloit.  An  exception,  however,  was  his 
action  against  the  city  and  town  of  Beloit  for  $100,000  in 
bonds,  voted  to  aid  the  construction  of  a  railroad  through 
the  place  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Mississippi  river.  The 
city  resorted  to  various  methods  to  escape  payment,  and 
Carpenter  was  at  last  engaged  by  the  holders  to  bring  the 
matter  before  the  courts,  which  he  agreed  to  do  for  a  cer 
tain  liberal  percentage  of  the  par  value  of  the  bonds  on 
which  he  might  recover.  The  suit  was  successful  and  his 
reward  desirable. 

Another  early  case  that  brought  to  Carpenter  the  confi 
dence  and  patronage  of  me  rural  population  was  his  defense 
of  a  farmer  in  a  suit  brought  by  a  Beloit  physician  for  serv 
ices  and  medicine.  The  farmer  had  refused  to  pay  the  bill, 
alleging  that  the  medicine,  given  under  the  doctor's  own  in 
structions,  proved  seriously  injurious  rather  than  beneficial 
to  his  daughter,  who  was  the  person  under  treatment,  and 
suit  was  brought  to  compel  its  payment.  Carpenter  saved 
the  farmer  harmless  from  the  action,  and  then  began  pro 
ceedings  against  the  doctor  for  malpractice  —  the  first  of 
the  kind  in  that  portion  of  the  state.  The  physician  was 
driven  out  of  Beloit,  and  the  farmers  regarded  that  lawyer 
who  could  help  them  escape  paying  the  doctors  not  only, 
but  drive  those  doctors  out  of  the  community,  as  a  very 
good  one. 

THE   MORMONS. 

In  the  town  of  Newark,  next  to  the  line  between  Illinois 
and  Wisconsin,  and  not  far  distant  from  Beloit,  the  Mor 
mons  formed  a  settlement  at  an  early  day,  and  when  Car 
penter  began  to  be  heard  of  as  an  attorney,  had  grown  to 


I 

96  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

such  proportions  as  to  be  able  to  hold  public  meetings  after 
the  manner  of  Methodists,  Catholics  and  other  sects,  in  the 
interest  of  their  "religious"  views.  A  class  of  lively  in 
dividuals  known  in  almost  every  community  as  "  the  boys," 
fell  into  the  rude  habit  of  attending  the  Mormon  meetings 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  creating  disturbances  and  enjoying 
seasons  of  boisterous  and  unruly  sport.  Several  times  the 
Mormons  invoked  the  aid  of  the  law  in  attempting  to  sup 
press  the  roisterers,  but  without  success.  At  last  they  engaged 
Carpenter.  He  set  about  preparing  the  case,  and  at  once 
discovered  that  his  predecessors  in  that  line  had  failed  from 
inability  to  establish  in  a  legal  sense  that  it  was  a  "  religious  " 
meeting  the  turbulent  youngsters  had  disturbed. 

Naturally  the  community  —  Baptists,  Methodists  and  all  — 
had  no  sympathy  for  the  Mormons,  and  it  was  difficult 
to  obtain  impartial  testimony  or  an  impartial  jury.  So-called 
"  expert "  religionists  were  called,  all  of  whom  declared  that 
Mormonism  was  contrary  to  "  true  religion,"  and  therefore 
Mormons  could  not  hold  "  religious  meetings."  However, 
by  ingenious  and  persistent  cross-examination,  Carpenter 
secured  admissions  from  all  the  church  members  that  those 
who  addressed  the  Mormon  meetings  "spoke  eloquently, 
earnestly  and  piously."  On  this  admission,  and  on  the  last 
word  of  it,  he  predicated  the  case,  and  by  skilful  argument 
showing  that  neither  witnesses  nor  magistrates  had  any  legal 
right  to  say  that  any  given  religion  was  not  the  "  true 
religion,"  simply  because  it  did  not  accord  with  their  own, 
so  long  as  it  was  the  regularly  practiced  and  avowed  belief 
of  those  who  professed  it,  he  won  a  verdict.  From  that 
time  on  the  Mormon  meetings,  which  were  good  though 
the  belief  was  bad,  were  not  unlawfully  disturbed,  and  Car 
penter  enjoyed  the  entire  patronage  of  the  sect  until  its 
removal. 


THE   BASHFORD-BARSTOW   BROIL.  97 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  BASHFORD-BARSTOW  BROIL. 

Public  excitement  was  probably  never  carried  to  a  more 
alarming  tension  in  Wisconsin  than  when  it  was  announced 
that  Wm.  A  Barstow  had  been  made  governor  by  a  fraud 
ulent  count  and  manipulation  of  the  votes  cast  for  himself 
and  Coles  Bashford  at  the  election  held  November  6,  1855. 
On  January  7,  1856,  Barstow  was  inaugurated  and  sworn  in 
with  more  pomp  and  parade  than  belonged  to  the  custom  of 
the  time,  and  on  the  same  day  Bashford,  without  any  ado  or 
demonstration,  went  before  Chief  Justice  Edward  V.  Whiton 
and  also  took  the  oath  of  office  as  governor. 

Thus,  in  a  remote  sense,  the  state  had  two  chief  executive 
officers,  and  it  became  a  matter  of  grave  public  concern  as 
to  how,  without  internecine  strife  and  bloodshed,  the  contro 
versy  could  be  settled  and  the  rightful  party  duly  installed. 
The  savage  arbitrament  of  physical  force  was  largely 
believed  to  be  the  only  means  that  could  be  employed,  as 
legal  history  afforded  no  precedent  for  civil  proceedings  in  a 
precisely  similar  case.  But  the  attorney-general,  Wm.  R. 
Smith,  on  the  relation  of  Bashford,  filed  an  information  in 
the  nature  of  a  quo  ivarranto  with  the  supreme  court  of  the 
state,  for  the  purpose  of  judicially  inquiring  in  what  manner 
Barstow  held  and  exercised  the  office  of  governor  "  without 
any  legal  warrant,  right,  title,  election  or  appointment." 

This  information  set  forth  that  by  an  iniquitous  system  of 
supplemental  returns  Barstow  had  been  given  a  majority  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty-seven  votes,  and  then  fraudulently 
declared  elected  by  the  board  of  canvassers  (Alex.  T.  Gray 
as  secretary  of  state,  Ed.  H.  Janssen  as  state  treasurer,  and 
Geo.  B.  Smith  as  attorney-general),  when  in  fact  he  had 
been  defeated  at  the  polls.  The  board  of  canvassers  fall 
democrats  like  Barstow),  as  the  returns  came  in,  at  once  dis- 
7 


98  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

covered  that  Barstow  had  been  defeated.  Additional,  called 
"supplemental,"  returns  were  then  prepared  for  several 
counties,  increasing  the  vote  for  Barstow.  These  fraudulent 
returns  were  received  and  counted  by  the  canvassers. 
Although  this  iniquity  was  carried  -forward  with  great 
secrecy,  it  was  discovered  by  Bashford's  friends.  He  then 
engaged  as  counsel  Timothy  O.  Howe,  of  Green  Bay, 
Edward  G.  Ryan,  of  Milwaukee,  James  H.  Knowlton,  of 
Shullsburg,  and  Alex.  W.  Randall,  of  Waukesha,  who  pre 
pared  the  information,  setting  forth  in  detail  the  real  and 
fraudulent  votes  of  the  state. 

Some  difficulty  was  experienced  in  getting  the  writ  before 
the  supreme  court,  as  Attorney-General  W.  R.  Smith,  hav 
ing  been  chosen  on  the  ticket  with  Barstow,  was  his  friend, 
and  therefore  refused  to  file  the  original  information  left  with 
him  for  that  purpose  by  Bashford's  attorneys.  However, 
on  appearing  before  the  court,  a  motion  for  substitution  was 
made  and  granted  and  the  trial  proceeded. 

It  had  been  well-noised  abroad  at  that  day,  as  previously 
described,  that  Carpenter  was  an  ingenious  and  successful 
lawyer  of  superior  learning.  He  was  therefore  engaged, 
with  Harlow  S.  Orton  (now  a  justice  of  the  Wisconsin  su 
preme  court)  and  Jonathan  E.  Arnold,  of  Milwaukee,  to 
conduct  Barstow's  defense.  These  three,  men  of  great  but 
differing  ability,  appeared  and  pleaded  to  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  court.  Carpenter's  effort  was  in  writing,  prepared  with 
literary  taste  and  perfection,  and  stands  as  one  of  the  most 
ingenious,  polished  and  plausible  arguments  unsupported  by 
authorities  and  decisions  ever  made  in  Wisconsin.  As  a  rich 
and  entertaining  piece  of  legal  literature,  his  opening  sentences 
in  that  famous  case  are  often  quoted: 

We  come  here  to  argue  a  question  of  vital  importance;  we  come  to  re 
sist  an  attempt  to  maim  the  proportions  and  mar  the  harmony  of  our  state 
government  by  striking  down  one  of  its  independent  departments;  we  come 
to  resist  the  endeavor  now  made  to  subject  the  executive  to  the  control  of 
this  court.  *  *  *  The  chief  executive  magistrate  has  sent  us  into  your 
presence  to  make  it  known  to  you  that  the  attorney -general  has  filed  in 


THE   BASHFORD-BARSTOW   BROIL.  99 

jour  court  an  information  in  the  nature  of  a  quo  -warranto,  calling  him  to 
show  cause  why  he  exercises  the  office  of  governor  of  Wisconsin.  His 
excellency  entertains  no  doubt  that  your  honors,  once  in  formed  of  what  has 
been  done,  will  instantly  dismiss  these  proceedings;  and  while  he  knows 
that  any  such  proceeding  in  this  court  is  unwarranted,  that  the  court  can 
not  constitutionally,  and  therefore  will  not,  pass  any  judgment  questioning 
the  authority  of  an  officer  of  the  state  of  co-ordinate  and  equal  commission 
with  this  court,  yet  he  has  been  pleased  to  send  us  as  his  representatives  to 
answer  the  writ  of  this  court,  as  a  king  of  England,  in  merry  mood,  might 
answer  his  own  writ  and  enter  his  own  court,  to  enjoy  the  look  of  surprise 
with  which  a  Denman  or  a  Brougham  would  learn  by  his  presence,  that, 
like  careless  necromancers,  they  had  conjured  up  a  spirit  that  would  not 
down  at  their  bidding.  "  Go,"  says  the  governor,  "  and  acquaint  my  cous 
ins,  the  judges,  what  an  excellent  joke  our  subordinate  officers  have  played 
upon  us."  And  the  governor  was,  like  the  king  in  the  song,  in  right  gra 
cious  mood.  But  kings,  princes  and  governors,  clothed  with  the  terrors 
and  commanding  the  thunders  of  the  state,  are  often  calm  and  confident 
when  their  ministers,  counselors  and  friends  are  most  anxious  and  dis 
tressed.  The  members  of  our  profession  are  all  grave  and  honest  men. 
We  make  no  feints;  we  play  no  jokes.  We  know,  too,  that  the  jocularity 
which  your  honors  would  return  in  kind  to  your  cousin,  the  governor, 
would  never  be  pardoned  in  us,  your  subordinate  officers.  We  come,  there 
fore,  observing  the  etiquette  of  this  court.  We  enter  an  appearance  as 
counsel  and  bring  this  matter  to  your  honors'  notice.  We  file,  according 
to  the  practice  of  the  court,  a  motion. 

This  proceeding  has  no  precedent  in  any  kingdom,  state  or  nation.  Never 
before  has  a  judicial  tribunal  been  invoked  by  a  claimant  of  the  chief 
magistracy  to  disrobe  an  occupant  of  the  chair  of  the  state  and  place  him 
in  his  stead.  Contests  between  such  claimants  constitute  a  great  portion  of 
the  history  of  every  nation,  but  never  before  has  such  a  contest  been  fought 
in  a  court  of  justice.  England  furnishes  us  the  model  of  government,  and 
its  maxims,  customs  and  jurisprudence  we  have  adopted  almost  en  masse. 
We  daily  consult  her  books  of  reports  to  learn  what  judgment  is  proper  for 
this  court  to  pronounce,  but  now  we  consult  them  in  vain !  The  soil  of  Eng 
land  has  been  moistened  often  with  the  best  blood  of  her  sons  in  deadly 
strife  to  set  up  or  pull  down  this  or  that  executive  head.  But  no  applica 
tion  was  ever  made  by  usurpers  or  pretenders  to  the  lord  chief  justice  to 
restrain  the  princes  of  the  white  rose  or  the  red.  To  God  and  his  good 
sword  the  rightful  magistrate  has  looked  for  his  support  in  power,  or  to 
bring  him  to  his  own  when  withheld  from  it.  No  injunction  ever  issued 
from  the  high  court  of  chancery  commanding 

"  Grim-visaged  War  to  smooth  his  wrinkled  front." 

Shadows  affrighted  the  soul  of  Richard  in  Bosworth  field ;  and  ghosts 
troubling  his  sleep  denounced  against  him  every  curse,  threatened  him  with 
every  harm;  but  never  a  ghost  croaked  quo  warranto! 


IOO  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

The  court  decided  that  it  had  jurisdiction,  and  ordered  the 
relator,  Bashford,  to  bring  in  proof  of  the  allegations  of  fraud 
set  out  in  the  information.  Thereupon  Barstow's  counsel, 
on  March  8th,  formally  withdrew  from  the  case.  In  doing 
so,  Carpenter  addressed  the  court  to  the  effect  that  "  Gov. 
Barstow  is  not,  by  simply  not  pleading,  to  be  regarded  as  a 
convicted  man.  The  court  must  judicially  regard  him  as  the 
legal  governor  until  he  shall  have  been  proven  to  the  con 
trary."  Saying  this,  he  added,  "  We  leave  this  case  with 
out  regrets  for  the  past,  without  fears  for  the  future,"  and 
withdrew. 

Before  departing,  he  handed  up  to  the  court  a  communi 
cation  from  Barstow,  which  was,  as  the  official  proceedings 
declare,  "  couched  in  such  indecent  language  that  the  judges 
would  not  receive  it."  Subsequently,  Carpenter  published 
that  he  had  no  knowledge  that  his  client's  paper  contained 
anything  of  an  improper  or  discourteous  nature.  This  is 
easily  believed,  as  he  was  always  consistent  in  observing  due 
respect  to  the  courts. 

The  court  held,  as  Carpenter  requested,  that  Bashford 
must  bring  proof,  at  the  same  time  entering  against  Barstow 
an  "interlocutory  judgment."  The  proof  showed  that  town 
25,  range  10,  in  Waupaca  county,  the  town  of  Gilbert's 
Mills,  Dunn  county,  and  the  town  of  Spring  Creek,  in  Polk 
county,  from  which  large  supplemental  returns  had  been 
brought  in  Barstow's  favor,  were  then,  and  always  had  been, 
totally  uninhabited!  The  persons  sent  to  look  up  evidence 
found  nothing  more  than  a  trail  through  one  of  the  towns, 
and  in  another  that  only  two  entries  of  land  by  speculators 
had  ever  been  made!  This  outrage  upon  the  ballot-box,  this 
corruption  of  the  very  foundation  of  republican  institutions, 
was  so  wicked  and  stupendous  that  the  court  at  once  turned 
the  interlocutory  judgment  into  a  final  affirmation  that  Bar- 
stow  was  an  intruder  and  usurper,  and  Bashford  the  rightful 
governor. 

Although  Carpenter's  cause  was  an  unholy  one  (which 


THE   BASIIFORD-BARSTOW   BROIL.  IOI 

was  publicly  admitted  by  his  withdrawal  while  it  was  pend 
ing),  his  polished  and  ingenious  argument  in  its  behalf  wid 
ened  his  reputation  and  contributed  more  to  his  public 
advancement  than  anything  that  had  previously  transpired. 
He  did  not,  however,  realize  one  cent  for  his  services.1 

1  While  speaking  in  the  senate,  January  6,  1874,  *n  favor  °f  repealing 
what  was  popularly  called  the  "salary-grab"  act,  Carpenter  said,  referring 
to  this  suit: 

-  "  I  have  practiced  law  twenty-five  years.  I  charge  my  clients  what  I 
think  they  ought  to  pay.  If  they  object  to  the  amount,  I  receive  what  they 
are  willing  to  pay.  To  this  there  has  been  only  one  exception.  In  one 
case  I  thought  my  client  acted  badly,  and  sued  him  for  compensation,  de 
manding  $1,000.  He  pleaded  that  my  services  had  been  of  no  value.  I 
discontinued  the  suit,  paid  my  own  costs,  and  sued  him  again  for  $2,000 
ahd  interest.  He  interposed  the  same  defense.  I  noticed  the  case  for  trial, 
called  his  own  lawyer  to  the  stand,  proved  my  services  to  be  worth  consid- ' 
erably  more  than  $2,000,  and  recovered  judgment  for  that  sum  and  interest 
My  client  then  came  to  me  and  told  me  what  I  did  not  know  —  that  he 
owned  a  lot  of  land  worth  $6,000,  upon  which  my  judgment  was  a  lien;; 
tbat  he  was  in  great  distress  financially,  and  that  if  I  would  discharge  h  s ; 
judgment,  he  would  sell  the  lot  and  pay  me  $1,000;  and  if  he  ever  could 
pay  the  balance  of  the  judgment,  he  would,  and  if  he  could  not,  he  would 
not.  I  said  'all  right.'  I  discharged  the  judgment;  he  sold  the  lot,  put 
the  money  in  his  pocket,  and  I  have  never  seen  him  since." 


IO2  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

CHAPTER  X. 

CONSPIRACY  AGAINST  BOOTH. 

The  grand  jury  for  the  April  term  of  the  circuit  court  for 
Milwaukee  county  found  a  bill  of  indictment  against  Sher 
man  M.  Booth,  charging  him  with  contaminating  the  chas 
tity  of  Caroline  N.  Cook.  This  is  a  memorable  case  in  the 
annals  of  jurisprudence  and  politics  in  Milwaukee,  and  in 
Carpenter's  professional  career.  Booth  was  an  original  anti- 
slavery  agitator  and  editor.  At  the  time  mentioned  he  was 
editor  of  the  Free  Democrat,  the  most  conspicuous  republican 
paper  in  Wisconsin,  and  had  been  the  leading  figure  in  rescu 
ing  from  the  officers  one  Joshua  Glover,  a  fugitive  slave, 
which  act  resulted  in  'a  long  and  bitter  series  of  legal  pro 
ceedings  involving  the  question  of  state-rights,  so-called,  and 
precipitating  an  exciting  conflict  of  authority  between  the 
state  and  federal  courts.  He  had  kept  up  the  anti-slavery 
agitation,  with  intense  vigor,  for  fifteen  years ;  out  of  it  had 
grown  the  republican  party,  which  had  taken  from  the  dem 
ocrats  the  control  of  the  state,  and  still  the  fire  of  the  Free 
Democrat  was  not  less  incessant  or  less  effective.  The  de 
mocracy,  therefore,  determined  to  compass  his  ruin. 

Under  such  circumstances,  Booth  was  indicted.  The  dis 
trict  attorney,  Dwight  Corson,  was  a  democrat,  the  judge 
was  a  democrat,  the  officials  generally  were  democrats,  and 
the  democratic  party  had  desperately  resolved  to  convict  the 
defendant  if  it  could  be  done.  Somebody  not  known  to  the 
public  had  engaged  E.  G.  Ryan  to  aid  the  district  attorney. 
The  democratic  papers  prepared  caricatures  for  publication 
immediately  after  Booth's  conviction;  the  community  was 
excited  to  an  unusual  degree,  and  the  case  was  being  spicily 
tried  in  the  opposition  newspapers.  Things  generally  indi 
cated  that  conviction  was  to  be  had  at  all  hazards.  Booth 
engaged  H.  L.  Palmer  for  his  defense,  and  the  trial  was 


CONSPIRACY    AGAINST   BOOTH. 

drawing  near.  Josiah  A.  Noonan  went  to  Carpenter  and 
explained  that,  for  a  new-comer  who  had  not  yet  secured  a 
foot-hold,  here  was  an  opportunity  of  rare  advantages  to 
achieve  professional  fame.  The  case  appeared  to  be,  he 
argued,  that  a  conspicuous  politician  was  being  assailed  by 
the  armies  of  the  opposition,  with  the  wicked  intention  of 
destroying  his  influence  and  power  and  thus  injuring  his 
party,  the  artillery  in  the  enemy's  hands  being  several  per 
sons  of  questionable  character  who  had  been  lured  into  it  by 
golden  promises,  and  that  the  conspiracy  was  so  well  organ 
ized,  that,  without  the  ablest  defense,  Booth,  however  inno 
cent  he  might  be,  would  be  convicted  as  a  republican,  if  not 
as  a  debaucher  of  virtue. 

Carpenter  consented  to  go  into  the  case.  The  partnership 
of  Ryan,  Carpenter  &  Jenkins  had  just  been  dissolved,  and 
the  two  senior  members  of  the  firm  were  not  friendly.  The 
Milwaukee  &  La  Crosse  Railway  litigation  was  in  an  in 
cipient  and  semi-comatose  condition,  and  Carpenter  was 
without  important  engagements.  He  therefore  entered  upon 
the  defense, "  rejoicing  as  a  strong  man  to  run  a  race."  The 
trial  began  July  25,  1859,  and  lasted  two  weeks.  The  court 
house  was  crowded  with  spectators  from  the  opening  to  the 
closing  hour.  His  address  to  the  jury,  which  occupied  two 
days,  was  the  prominent  feature  of  the  affair.  Many  distin 
guished  persons  listened  to  it,  among  them  the  noted  Thomas 
Marshall,  of  Kentucky.  He  had  halted  in  Milwaukee  with 
the  intention  of  opening  a  school  of  eloquence  and  elocution, 
but  after  being  irresistibly  held  to  a  seat  in  the  court-room 
for  several  days  by  the  fascinating  oratory  of  Carpenter  and 
Ryan,  he  abandoned  his  project  with  the  remark  that  "  Mil 
waukee  had  no  need  of  any  more  teachers  of  eloquence." 

Carpenter,  in  his  address,  drew  a  divine  picture  of  chas 
tity —  of  a  perfectly  chaste  woman  —  which  yet  stands  unri 
valed  in  judicial  history.  "She  is  not,"  he  said,  "simply  a 
person  of  undefiled  body,  but  pure  and  unsullied  in  thought, 
free  from  lustful  desire.  A  chaste  character  requires  a  pure 


104  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

mind  as  well  as  a  pure  body  —  pure  actions  and  modest, 
delicate  deportment — 'in  maiden  meditation  fancy  free.'" 

The  jury  did  not  agree,  and  before  a  new  trial  could  be 
had  for  the  vindication  of  Booth,  all  the  members  of  the 
Cook  family,  by  the  same  influence  that  procured  the  in 
dictment  and  engaged  unusual  counsel  to  aid  the  district 
attorney,  were  sent  to  England,  and  none  of  them  were  ever 
after  heard  of  in  Wisconsin. 

Carpenter  was  well  satisfied  with  the  results  of  his  effort. 
Ryan  had  been  defeated,  the  conspirators  thwarted,  and  his 
reputation  as  an  advocate  of  surpassing  ability  fully  estab 
lished  in  Milwaukee.  After  the  excitement  had  been 
quieted,  it  is  still  related,  one  of  the  jurymen  stated  that  he 
and  others  took  their  seats  as  jurors  "sworn  to  convict  Booth 
according  to  the  charge  in  the  indictment,  whatever  the  evi 
dence  might  be."  The  division  of  a  jury  under  such  circum 
stances  showed  with  what  skill  and  power  Carpenter  con 
ducted  the  defense.  Booth  has  written  that  Carpenter 
received  no  fee  for  his  valuable  services  in  defending  that 
celebrated  persecution,  "  except  the  plaudits  of  the  public 
-and  the  lucrative  professional  business  it  afterward  brought 
him." 

MURDER  OF  FATHER  RICHMOND. 

With  perhaps  a  single  exception,  Carpenter  entertained  a 
deeper  regard  for  Father  James  Cook  Richmond  than  for 
any  other  man  of  God  he  ever  knew.  When,  therefore,  in 
July,  1866,  news  reached  him  that  Father  Richmond  had 
been  brutally  murdered  by  two  of  his  man-servants,  while 
engaged  on  his  farm  in  Dutchess  county,  New  York,  he  was 
unspeakably  shocked,  and  determined  at  once  to  make  every 
contribution  in  his  po\ver  toward  bringing  the  guilty  wretches 
to  the  utmost  punishment  of  the  law.  He  learned  by  corre 
spondence  that  the  murderers  would  be  arraigned  at  the 
next  session  of  the  court,  and  when  the  oyer  and  terminer 
calendar  for  Dutchess  county  was  reached,  in  December,  pre 
sented  himself  before  Allard  Anthony,  the  district  attorney, 


MURDER    OF    FATHER    RICHMOND.  IC5 

and  offered  to  aid  in  the  prosecution.  Not  knowing  Carpen 
ter,  the  district  attorney  had  declined  the  first  offer,  but  on 
being  informed  by  the  presiding  judge,  Jasper  W.  Gilbert, 
of  the  eminence  of  the  volunteer,  Mr.  Anthony  quickly 
changed  his  mind,  and  received  Carpenter  with  great  cour 
tesy.  The  prisoners'  counsel  made  a  strong  attempt  to  prej 
udice  the  jury  by  alleging  that  Carpenter,  by  his  long 
journey  and  free  services,  showed  that  he  was  seeking  re 
venge,  not  justice.  Carpenter  made  the  closing  argument. 
There  is  no  record  of  what  he  said,  but,  according  to  the 
judgment  of  those  who  listened  to  him,  it  must  have  been  a 
great  effort.  His  heart  was  in  the  task,  and  he  was  then,  at 
forty-two  years  of  age,  in  the  pride  and  prime  of  mental 
and  physical  existence.  What  effect  the  charge  that  he  was 
a  mere  avenger  had  upon  the  jury  may  be  left  to  the  reader, 
for  a  verdict  of  murder  in  the  first  degree  was  returned 
within  twenty  minutes.  The  sentence  of  the  court  was 
death  by  hanging,  to  be  carried  into  effect  on  January  25, 
1867;  but  through  the  instrumentalities  of  an  appeal  and  a 
plea  of  guilty  of  manslaughter,  the  prisoners  escaped  the 
death  penalty,  though  one  committed  self-destruction. 

Judge  Gilbert,  in  a  letter  dated  at  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  Decem 
ber  20,  I882,1  says: 

My  recollection  of  the  trial  of  Lewis  will  always  remain  fresh.  Mr. 
Carpenter  conducted  the  prosecution  and  made  the  concluding  address. 
He  exhibited  uncommon  skill  in  the  examination  of  witnesses,  and  rare 
ability  in  the  argument  of  the  legal  questions  which  arose  during  the  trial. 
His  summing  up  of  the  evidence  was  never  excelled  within  the  view  of  my 
experience.  It  was  impassioned,  but  truly  eloquent;  strong  in  argument, 
convincing  in  its  array  of  facts  and  in  the  disclosure  of  the  intent  which 
actuated  the  prisoner.  But  it  was,  nevertheless,  free  from  all  invective  and 
harshness  of  expression.  I  look  back  to  Mr.  Carpenter's  part  in  that  case 
as  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  in  the  annals  of  criminal  jurisprudence. 
He  was  certainly  one  of  the  most  remarkable  attorneys  that  ever  appeared 
before  me. 

Judge  Gilbert  is  and  was  a  good  Presbyterian,  and  when 
Carpenter  had  concluded  the  argument,  very  naturally  called 

l  At  this  time  he  was  a  judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  New  York. 


IO6  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

down  to  him:  "I  presume,  Mr.  Carpenter,  you  were  a 
member  of  Father  Richmond's  church."  "No,"  was  the 
instant  reply,  "I  take  my  religion  by  the  curtesy."  The 
average  layman  will  not,  perhaps,  at  first  discover  the  wit  of 
this,  but  to  all  lawyers  it  must  be  a  delicate  relish. 

TEST-OATH   CASES. 

A  circumstance  that  brought  a  large  amount  of  lucrative 
business  from  the  south  was  Carpenter's  argument  of  what 
are  known  as  the  "  Test-oath  "  cases.  Augustus  H.  Gar 
land,  of  Arkansas,  since  governor  and  United  States  sen 
ator,  appeared  in  Washington  soon  after  the  close  of  the  war, 
in  1865,  and  filed  his  application  for  permission  to  practice 
before  the  supreme  court.  He  had  been  regularly  admitted 
in  1860,  and  having  subsequently  taken  part  in  the  Rebellion 
as  a  confederate,  was  disbarred  from  further  appearance 
before  federal  courts  by  the  act  of  congress  of  January, 
1865,  which  declared  that  no  person  should  be  admitted  to 
practice  as  an  attorney  in  any  federal  court  unless  he  had 
taken  the  oath  prescribed  in  the  act  of  July  2,  1862.  He 
filed  an  application  for  permission  to  proceed  with  his  prac 
tice  without  taking  that  oath,  which  required  every  appli 
cant  to  swear  that  he  had  not  given  aid,  countenance  or 
counsel  to  persons  engaged  in  hostility  to  the  government; 
that  he  had  not  sought,  accepted  or  exercised  the  functions  of 
any  office  in  the  confederate  service,  and  that  he  had  yielded 
no  allegiance  or  support  to  any  power,  government  or  pre 
tended  power,  government  or  constitution  inimical  to  the  fed 
eral  Union. 

Garland  and  hundreds  of  other  lawyers  in  the  south 
could  not  subscribe  to  this  oath;  therefore  the  law  of  1865, 
if  held  valid  and  constitutional,  would  prevent  them  from 
practicing  in  the  various  federal  courts  and  in  the  supreme 
court.  Garland's  case  was  made  a  test  for  the  entire  south 
ern  bar.  Reverdy  Johnson  had  volunteered  to  support  the 


TEST-OATH   CASES.  IOJ 

application,  but  the  southern  bar,  originally  advised  so  to  do, 
engaged  Carpenter  to  appear  as  regular  counsel. 

He  held  that  exclusion  from  the  practice  of  the  law  in  fed 
eral  courts  for  past  conduct  was  punishment  for  such  con 
duct;  that  the  act  of  1865,  being  of  such  a  character,  was  in 
the  nature  of  a  bill  of  pains  and  penalties,  and  subject  to  the 
constitutional  inhibition  against  bills  of  attainder;  that  such 
exclusion  acted  as  a  punishment  for  offenses  which  were  not 
so  punishable  at  the  time  they  were  committed,  and  was 
therefore  an  ex  -post  facto  law ;  that  attorneys  are  not  federal 
but  judicial  officers,  admitted  at  the  pleasure  of  the  court,  and 
disbarred  only  for  misconduct  ascertained  and  declared  in 
judgment  form  after  an  opportunity  to  be  heard  has  been 
afforded.  He  also  held  that  if  the  act  of  1865  were  other 
wise  valid,  Garland,  having  been  granted  by  President  John 
son  full  pardon  and  general  amnesty,  the  law  could  not  set 
aside  and  annul  that  pardon  and  disbar  him  from  practice, 
for  the  generally  accepted  reason  that  executive  clemency 
makes  the  recipient  of  it  a  new  man  —  returns  to  him  all  the 
privileges  and  immunities  he  had  theretofore  enjoyed. 

The  opinion  of  the  court,  delivered  by  Justice  Stephen  J. 
Field,  affirmed  as  valid  the  propositions  submitted  by  Car 
penter  and  supported  by  Reverdy  Johnson,  and  Garland  at 
once  proceeded  with  his  practice  without  subscribing  to  the 
test-oath.  The  balance  of  the  southern  bar  was,  of  course, 
allowed  to  follow  him  into  the  federal  courts. 


IO8  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

CHAPTER  XL 

THE  McCARDLE  CASE. 

As  an  exploration  upon  an  unknown  sea,  the  greatest  case 
ever  argued  by  Carpenter  or  any  other  attorney  before  the 
United  States  supreme  court,  was  that  of  "  Exfarte  Wm.  H. 
McCardle."  One  of  the  reconstruction  acts  of  March  7, 
1867,  provided  for  the  division  of  the  states  lately  in  rebel 
lion  into  military  districts,  to  be  governed  by  officers  of  the 
army  not  less  than  brigadier-generals,  who  should  protect 
life  and  property,  preserve  the  peace  and  punish  all  offend 
ers.  One  Wm.  H.  McCardle,  of  Mississippi,  in  his  news 
paper,  libeled  the  federal  officials,  incited  disobedience  to  the 
acts  of  congress  and  to  the  authority  of  the  military  com 
manders. 

For  this  he  was  imprisoned  by  the  order  of  General  Ord 
to  await  trial  by  a  military  commission.  A  writ  of  habeas 
corf  us  was  obtained  for  his  release,  which  was  argued  before 
the  United  States  circuit  court  for  Mississippi.  The  pris 
oner,  upon  judgment  of  the  court,  was  remanded  to  jail. 
An  appeal  was  taken  to  the  United  States  supreme  court, 
and  as  the  case  involved  the  constitutionality  of  the  entire 
series  of  reconstruction  acts  of  congress,  the  administration 
was  deeply  concerned  in  the  matter. 

If  the  reconstruction  acts  should  be  declared  unconstitu 
tional,  and  McCardle  snatched  from  trial  and  punishment 
under  them,  the  ten  seceding  states  would  be  placed  by  the 
highest  court  on  the  continent  where  they  had  failed  to  place 
themselves  by  four  years  of  the  most  terrific  warfare  the 
world  had  ever  seen.  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  the  great  secre 
tary  of  war  whom  Andrew  Johnson  could  not  remove,  and 
U.  S.  Grant,  lieutenant-general  of  the  armies,  were  in  a  state 
of  extreme  trepidation  lest  the  genius  and  power  of  Jeremiah 
S.  Black,  who  had  been  engaged  by  McCardle,  should  carry 


I  Op 

the  case  through  to  a  result  disastrous  to  the  Union.  Car 
penter  had  at  this  time  achieved  wide  distinction  as  an  able 
and  earnest  supporter  of  the  war  and  the  reconstruction 
measures  of  congress,  and  was,  with  the  advice  and  con 
sent  of  others,  engaged  by  Stanton  to  argue  the  cause 
jointly  with  Lyman  Trumbull.  He  went  to  Washington  in 
February,  and,  occupying  Stanton's  rooms,  remained  there 
until  his  argument  was  complete. 

On  March  2,  1868,  Trumbull  argued  a  motion  to  dismiss 
the  appeal  for  want  of  jurisdiction.  The  motion  was  denied. 
Judge  Black  then  argued  in  favor  of  McCardle's  discharge, 
urging  the  unconstitutionality  of  the  laws  under  which  Mis 
sissippi  was  being  governed  and  reconstructed.  On  March 
3d  and  4th  Carpenter  made  his  now  world-famous  argu 
ment  l  in  opposition,  affirming  the  validity  of  all  the  recon 
struction  laws  and  the  legality  of  all  rightful  acts  under  them, 
and  holding  that  McCardle  must  be,  as  he  had  been  by  the 
circuit  court,  remanded  to  jail.  This  effort,  which  had  the 
attention  of  the  entire  public  north  and  south,  occupied 
the  advertence  of  the  court  during  two  days,  and  in  print 
comprised  about  one  hundred  octavo  pages.  He  opened  in 
this  solemn  and  sonorous  strain: 

This  is  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  world  that  a  bench  of  judges 
has  been  invoked  to  redress  the  wrongs,  real  or  imaginary,  of  eleven  mill 
ions  of  people,  and  to  establish  the  authority  of  ten  pretending  govern 
ments.  Such  controversies  have  been  decided  by  force,  not  by  reason;  in 
the  field,  not  in  the  courts.  Waterloo  determined  the  fate  of  Napoleon,  and 
he  went  in  sullen  silence  to  his  ocean  rock,  never  dreaming  of  the  habeas 

1  The  following  letter  to  his  wife  discloses  how  Carpenter  viewed  the 
effect  of  his  reasoning : 

TUESDAY,  March  3,  iS6S. 

DFAR  GIRL:  —  Yours  of  2yth  received,  and  I  am  greatly  relieved,  as  I 
was  beginning  to  be  anxious,  it  had  been  so  long  since  I  heard  from  you. 

I  spoke  two  and  one-half  hours  to-day  and  did  as  well  as  I  expected  or 
hoped  to  do.  I  am  praised  nearly  to  death.  I  had  more  than  half  the  sen 
ate  for  an  audience.  Miller's  face  was  "as  the  face  of  an  angel,"  radiant 
with  light  and  joy;  Davis  and  Field  looked  troubled;  Nelson,  Clifford  and 
Grier  dead  against  me.  But  I  shook  them  up  and  rattled  their  dry  bones. 

Kiss  the  pets,  and  believe  me,  always  the  same.  MATT. 


IIO  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

corpus.  No  lawyer  can  argue,  no  judge  decide  this  cause  without  a  painful 
sense  of  responsibility.  Its  consequences  will  be  upon  us  and  upon  our 
children ;  and  generations  yet  unborn  will  rejoice  or  mourn  over  the  prin 
ciples  to  be  here  established. 

This  court  has  been  told,  not  for  the  first  time,  that  it  is  the  great  con 
servative  department  of  the  government;  that  if  it  does  not  keep  constant 
vigil  over  the  other  departments,  they  will  rush,  as  would  the  planets  with 
out  the  law  of  gravitation,  into  "  hopeless  and  headlong  ruin."  There  is 
nothing  within  the  circle  of  human  emotions,  unless  it  be  the  pleasure  with 
which  a  lover  praises  the  real  or  imaginary  charms  of  his  mistress,  at  all 
to  be  compared  to  the  delight  experienced  by  a  lawyer  in  glorifying  a  court. 
It  results  from  our  studies  and  our  training  that  we  entertain  the  utmost 
reverence  for  those  who  must  declare  what  the  law  is.  Within  proper 
bounds  this  disposition  is  commendable;  but  the  bar,  in  a  free  country, 
often  have  higher  duties  to  perform ;  and  this  adulation  of  the  judges  may 
be  carried  to  excess.  The  judges  of  this  court,  like  the  apostles  of  our 
Lord,  are  men  of  like  passions  and  infirmities  with  other  men.  The  bar 
stands  in  much  the  same  relation  to  the  court  that  the  prophets  held  to  the 
ruling  powers  of  the  ancient  dispensation.  It  is  our  duty,  when  occasions 
require,  to  admonish  and  warn,  and  that,  too,  whether  courts  -will  listen,  or 
whether  they  will  refrain.  There  are  times  when  general  truths  should 
have  personal  application ;  times  when  a  prophet  in  Israel  must  say  to  a 
king  of  Israel,  "  Thou  art  the  man"  But  to  do  this,  he  should  be  a  prophet, 
not  a  mere  technical  Levite.  He  should  stand  among  his  brethren  like 
Saul  in  the  multitude,  head  and  shoulders  above  them  all.  The  man  to 
speak  thus  to  this  court  should  have  the  mien  and  the  manner  of  a  prophet; 
his  hair  whiter  than  milk,  streaming  down  his  shoulders.  He  should  be  as 
old  as  the  apostles  would  have  been  had  they  lived  to  read  McCardle's 
newspaper.  With  no  qualification  to  perform  this  duty,  except  that  I  have 
read  McCardle's  newspaper,  the  task  is  before  me;  and  it  will  be  my  aim  to 
show,  while  conceding  that  this  court  is  a  very  grave  body,  that  it  does  not 
furnish  the  law  of  gravitation  either  to  the  material  universe  or  to  our  po 
litical  system. 

Judge  Black  had  engaged  himself  principally  in  lauding 
the  court,  in  disparaging  the  military  tribunals  acting  under 
the  reconstruction  laws,  and  in  proclaiming  that  the  President, 
congress,  the  departments,  and  almost  everything  else,  re 
volved  around,  and  was  governed  by,  the  supreme  court. 

This  sophistry  and  adulation  called  out  the  closing  sentence 
in  the  foregoing  extract  from  Carpenter's  speech.  He  held 
that  the  supreme  court,  instead  of  being  above  and  over  all, 
was  not  even  co-ordinate  with  congress,  but  was,  in  every 


Ill 

sense  not  conflicting  with  the  constitution,  to  be  governed  by 
the  legislation  of  that  body.  The  court  could  not  organize 
and  re-organize  congress,  but  congress  could  organize  and 
re-organize  the  United  States  supreme  court.  In  combating 
Black's  argument  that  the  court  should  overturn  all  the  mil 
itary  districts  and  tribunals  in  the  states  lately  in  rebellion, 
Carpenter  declared: 

The  truth  is,  all  these  arguments  rest  upon  doctrines  repugnant  to  the 
first  principles  of  our  political  faith ;  and,  should  they  prove  successful,  the 
ultimate  control  over  political  subjects  will  pass  finally  and  forever  from  the 
people.  Instead  of  congress,  subject  to  constant  popular  control,  we  shall 
have  a  tribunal  of  judges  totally  independent  of  the  people.  No  prophet 
need  come  from  his  grave  to  tell  us  that  such  a  government  would  not 
comport  with  the  national  genius  or  long  continue.  It  is  immaterial  in 
what/<?r;«  this  power  is  exercised,  or  by  what  name  it  is  called.  When  ten 
men  can  decide  such  a  question,  and  the  people  can  not  turn  them  out  of 
office  if  they  decide  erroneously,  without  a  revolution,  then  it  is  certain 
that  the  supreme  power  has  passed  from  the  millions  to  the  ten.  Augustus 
assumed,  consolidated  and  exercised  all  the  powers  of  a  despotism  through 
the  forms  and  in  the  name  of  a  republic.  And,  in  the  case  supposed,  this 
government  would  not  be  the  less  an  oligarchy  because  the  ten  ruling  mag 
istrates  were  called  judges,  instead  of  dukes  or  princes. 

That  our  government  has  stood  thus  long,  that  the  decisions  of  this  court 
are  respected  and  submitted  to  by  all  parties  and  by  all  men,  is  owing  to 
the  fact  that  it  has,  at  all  times,  most  scrupulously  confined  itself  to  its  proper 
province,  and  refused  to  embark  in  political  discussions  for  party  ends.  Its 
aid  has  often  been  sought  by  politicians.  It  has  uniformly  been  denied,  as 
I  shall  have  occasion  to  show  hereafter.  The  success  of  all  free  govern 
ment  depends  upon  a  religious  observance  of  this  division  of  powers.  When 
this  court  decides  a  cause,  no  matter  how  erroneous  congress  or  the  Presi 
dent  may  think  the  decision,  congress  is  powerless  to  grant  re-argument 
or  new  trial;  and  if  the  President  does  not  see  the  judgment  executed,  an 
impeachment  will  sweep  him  away  as  a  "  cumberer  of  the  ground."  When 
the  President  grants  a  pardon,  no  matter  what  congress  or  this  court  may 
think  of  the  propriety  of  the  act,  both  are  bound  by  it.  When  congress 
determines  any  political  matter,  never  so  erroneously  in  the  opinion  ot  this 
court  or  the  President,  its  action  is  final  and  conclusive.  It  is  far  better 
that  individual  instances  of  injustice  committed  by  either  department  should 
go  unredressed  than  that  the  liberties  of  all  should  be  swallowed  up.  The 
rule  is  general  that  a  discretion  committed  to  one  authority  is  not  'to  be  reviewed 
by  another.  No  principle  has  been  more  repeatedly  and  emphatically  de 
clared  by  this  court. 


112  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

On  the  second  day,  with  the  most  distinguished  men  in 
the  nation  about  him,  listening  with  heart  and  soul  to  the 
flood  of  his  argument  for  the  Union,  Carpenter,  after  quot 
ing  the  opinion  of  Chief  Justice  Taney  in  Ableman  vs.  Booth,1 
closed  by  enunciating  this  immortal  doctrine: 

I  am  aware  that  this  line  of  argument  is  not  fashionable.  This  govern 
ment,  from  the  first,  has  held  the  language  of  a  supplicant  to  the  south. 
Much  that  was  due  to  the  insulted  majesty  of  the  nation  was  concealed 
from  anxiety  to  win  home  deluded  brethren.  We  entered  the  south  with 
the  pretended  purpose  of  looking  for  our  postofficc  s  and  our  forts,  our 
arsenals  and  our  custom-houses  —  property  for  which  we  had  paid  our 
money,  and  evidences  of  our  title  to  which  were  deposited  in  our  safe.  We 
went  in  sorrow,  not  in  anger;  remonstrating,  not  threatening;  beseeching, 
not  commanding;  and  as  often  as  we  would  have  gathered  her  people  into 
our  fold,  and  extended  to  them  our  fellowship  and  protection,  they  -would 
not.  Our  overtures  for  peace  were  met  with  war,  bitter  and  relentless  — 
war  to  the  knife,  and  war  to  the  end  —  until  the  land  was  dotted  over  with 
fresh-laid  graves  "on  every  high  hill  and  beneath  every  green  tree." 

Had  the  conciliatory  measures  of  the  government  accomplished  the  pur 
pose  without  the  shedding  of  biood,  that  would  have  been  some  compensa 
tion.  Were  the  rebel  states  even  now  willing  to  take  their  place  in  the 
Union  under  the  reasonable  regulations  provided  by  congress,  it  might  be 
wisdom  to  forget,  as  soon  as  possible,  the  dreadful  past.  If,  instead  of  this, 
however,  these  states  come  into  this  court  charging  oppression  and  tyranny 
upon  the  most  indulgent  government  that  ever  existed  on  earth;  if,  instead 
of  confessing  their  fault,  they  come  here  to  contest  and  wrangle ;  come 
here  claiming  immunity  from  punishment  while  resisting  and  thwarting 
the  purposes  of  congress;  if  they  will  drive  on  a  discussion  of  this  question, 
then  it  must  be  discussed.  And  if  the  result  shall  tend  to  remind  the  peo 
ple  of  the  north  that  they  have  conquered  the  rebels  of  the  south;  and  if 
it  shall  provoke  the  government  to  speak  with  its  sovereign  voice;  if 
meanwhile  reconstruction  in  the  south  stands  still,  and  her  people  have  to 
submit  to  military  mle;  if  her  fair  fields  remain  desolate,  her  trade  and 
commerce  languish,  her  industry  be  not  employed,  or  fail  of  its  reward, 
she  can  not  say  ive  did  it. 

Unpleasant  as  it  may  be  to  review  the  history  of  the  last  six  years,  or 
dwell  upon  the  Avickeclness  of  this  Rebellion,  in  no  other  way  can  we  prop 
erly  consider,  or  correctly  determine,  upon  the  existing  state  of  things. 
Counsel  have  done  well  for  their  clients  bv  ignoring  secession,  rebellion 
and  war.  They  have  argued  this  case  as  though  Mississippi  were  as  inno 
cent  as  Massachusetts,  and  had  been  as  faithful  to  her  constitutional  duty; 

1  21  of  Howard's  Reports. 


and  when  compelled,  now  and  then,  to  allude  to  the  fact  that  war  has 
existed,  they  have  changed  the  subject  as  soon  as  possible,  and  besought 
this  court  to  relieve  those  they  represent  from  the  just  consequences  of 
their  folly  and  crime.  They  admit  that,  during  the  war,  the  United  States 
could  overthrow  and  demolish  the  rebel  governments;  but  they  insist  that 
the  surrender  of  Lee  and  Johnston  entitled  those  governments,  or  any 
which  the  people  of  those  states  might  establish,  to  full  communion  as 
states  of  the  Union.  I  remember  to  have  heard  a  clergyman  dealing  in 
bold  rhetoric,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Son  of  Man  might  have  called 
legions  of  angels  to  defend  him,  yet  submitted  to  be  crucified  by  his  ene 
mies,  exclaim,  "Jesus  overcame  the  world  by  submitting  to  the  world."  The 
argument  of  our  opponents  reverses  the  proposition,  and  maintains  that  we 
lost  all  control  over  the  south  by  conquering  the  south.  All  admit  that 
the  government  which  existed  de  facto  in  Mississippi,  the  day  before  the 
surrender  of  Lee  and  Johnston,  was  subject  to  the  absolute  will  of  the 
nation.  We  might  have  crushed  it  beneath  the  iron  heel  of  war.  But  it  is 
preposterous  for  counsel  to  say  that  by  conquering  the  rebel  armies,  the 
only  power  which  could  sustain  that  government,  and  by  effecting  complete 
conquest  of  the  south  —  its  territory,  its  people,  and  its  rebel  governments  — 
congress  lost  the  right  even  to  make  a  respectful  request  in  regard  to  the 
results  of  our  victory;  and  that  the  consequences  of  this  fearful  Rebellion, 
which  for  four  years  shook  the  continent,  are  to  be  "trammeled  up"  by  the 
rules  of  special  pleading,  upon  a  bill  in  equity. 

When  Carpenter  finished  his  speech,  Stanton  clasped  him 
in  his  arms,  and,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  exclaimed  fervently: 
"  Carpenter,  you  have  saved  us ! "  * 

The  court  held  the  matter  under  advisement,  and  on 
March  27th,  of  that  year,  congress  repealed  the  act  of 
March,  1867,  under  which  McCardle  was  enabled  to  appeal 

1  When  Carpenter  was  ready  to  return  to  Wisconsin,  he  received  this 
letter: 

WAR  DEPARTMENT,  WASHINGTON,  April  7,  1868. 

MY  DEAR  SIR: — In  taking  leave  of  you,  I  can  not  forbear  expressing  my 
very  great  satisfaction  with  the  able  and  successful  services  you  have  ren 
dered  the  government  in  the  important  cases  committed  to  your  charge  in 
the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States. 

The  personal  intercourse  between  us,  occasioned  by  your  relation  to  those 
cases,  has  impressed  me  not  only  with  a  high  appreciation  of  your  profes 
sional  attainments  and  ability,  but  has  been  to  me  a  very  great  pleasure. 

Wishing  you  every  success  and  fortune  in  life,  and  desirous  to  contribute 
to  the  same  whenever  opportunity  may  offer,  I  am,  with  sincere  regard, 
your  friend.  EDWIN  M.  STANTON. 

To  Matt.  H.  Carpenter 
8 


114  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

to  the  United  States  supreme  court.  Carpenter  and  Trum- 
bull  then  appeared  and  argued  that  the  court,  having  lost 
jurisdiction  of  the  case,  must  drop  it,  and  McCardle  must 
return  to  jail.  Chief  Justice  Salmon  P.  Chase  delivered  the 
opinion  of  the  court  sustaining  that  view  of  the  matter. 

Carpenter's  part  in  this  critical  cause  gave  him  an  enviable 
name.  He  was  praised  everywhere,  and,  what  is  extremely 
uncommon,  received  in  person  high  tributes  from  the  bench 
itself. 

Before  the  argument  was  made,  Stanton  desired  its  text 
submitted  to  Wm.  M.  Meredith,  one  of  the  greatest  lawyers 
in  Pennsylvania.  Not  in  the  least  offended,  Carpenter  started 
for  Philadelphia,  to  comply  with  the  unusual  request.  He 
entered  Meredith's  presence  greatly  embarrassed,  and  began 
reading  the  argument,  expecting  to  be  frequently  and  sharply 
interrupted.  Pleasantly  surprised,  he  continued  the  reading  to 
the  end,  thus  occupying  several  hours,  without  a  single  inter 
ruption  or  question.  When  he  had  finished,  Meredith  in 
quired:  "Mr.  Carpenter,  how  old  are  you?"  The  reply 
was,  "Forty-three  last  December."  With  evident  surprise 
and  admiration,  Meredith  took  his  visitor  by  the  hand,  say 
ing:  "That  is  a  remarkable  production,  and  you  must  be  a 
remarkable  man.  I  have  no  suggestions  to  make  in  regard 
to  it." 

Shortly  after,  Stanton  received  a  letter  from  Meredith, 
congratulating  the  government  on  the  good  fortune  of  having 
secured  such  able  counsel,  and  declaring  he  "  could  not  add 
one  word  to  Carpenter's  argument  and  would  not  take  one 
from  it."  But  a  few  months  elapsed  before  Carpenter  was 
being  urged  as  a  candidate  for  the  United  States  senate.  His 
enemies  then  alleged  that  the  argument  in  the  McCardle 
case  was  not  his  own,  but  Reverdy  Johnson's.  This  libel 
was  at  once  settled  by  an  unequivocal  denial  from  Johnson. 

Probably  no  graver  constitutional  questions  were  ever 
presented  before  the  United  States  supreme  court  than  those 
involved  in  the  McCardle  matter.  Carpenter's  brief  is  often 


"5 

referred  to  as  one  of  the  masterpieces  in  forensic  literature ; 
and  it  is  not  less  than  remarkable  that  the  positions  argued 
by  him  constituted  the  very  grounds  upon  which  the  recon 
struction  measures  enacted  by  congress  were  founded,  and 
the  states  related  back  to  their  places  in  the  federal  Union. 
"  It  is  not  often,"  Judge  Mac  Arthur  says,  "  that  a  mere  law 
yer  has  the  good  fortune  to  mold  and  re-instate  the  jurispru 
dence  of  his  country.  Erskine,  when  he  vindicated  and 
saved  freedom  of  speech  in  the  Stockdale  trials,  for  the  bene 
fit  of  all  English-speaking  people;  Hamilton,  when  in  a 
single  effort  he  re-established  the  true  doctrine  of  libel;  and 
Carpenter,  when  he  enforced  the  principles  upon  which  the 
national  Union  must  ever  repose  for  its  safety,  had  that  great 
good  fortune." 

Nothing  can  be  so  fitting  to  close  this  chapter  as  the  fol 
lowing  letter  to  his  wife,  written  while  Carpenter  was  occu 
pying  rooms  in  the  war  department: 

FEBRUARY  24,  1868. 

MY  DEAR  CARA:  —  I  have  been  in  such  a  fearful  whirl  for  five  or  six 
days  that  I  could  not  find  time  to  write  you.  I  got  my  "big"  brief  into 
the  hands  of  the  government  printer  this  morning.  Stanton  has  ordered 
one  thousand  copies  to  be  printed,  so  I  shall  be  able  to  send  you  one,  prob 
ably. 

Stanton  sent  for  me  this  morning  and  said  to  me:  "You  may  as  well 
understand  that  you  are  in  for  the  whole  fight  Take  a  room  in  the  de 
partment  and  be  at  home."  He  then  delivered  me  the  key  to  No.  29,  which 
is  an  elegant  office,  occupied  by  the  solicitor  of  the  war  department  until 
that  office  was  abolished,  at  the  close  of  the  war.  It  is  only  four  doors 
from  the  secretary's  office,  and  one  of  the  finest  apartments  in  the  building. 
After  giving  me  the  key  he  gave  me  a  check  for  five  thousand  dollars  as  a 
retainer. 

What  will  come  of  all  this  fight  I  can  not  predict.  The  house  will  to 
day,  at  five  P.  M.,  vote  the  impeachment,  and  the  chances  are  that  the  sen 
ate  will  convict.  If  this  programme  shall  be  carried  fully  into  execution, 
Stanton  will  be  firmly  seated  in  the  department,  and  I  shall  have  a  chance 
in  all  the  big  cases  that  come  up. 

But  however  it  may  terminate,  I  shall  not  be  affected  injuriously ;  that  is, 
whatever  comes  of  it,  the  fact  of  my  retainer  in  this  matter,  if  I  can  only 
manage  to  make  a  good  argument  in  the  McCardle  case  a  week  from  to 
day,  will  be  a  big  thing  for  me  professionally.  I  went  by  Stanton's  direc- 


Il6  LIFE  OF  CARPENTER. 

tion  to  Philadelphia  last  week  to  confer  with  Mr.  Meredith,  who,  he  says, 
is  the  biggest  lawyer  he  ever  knew.  I  read  my  brief  to  him,  and  he  said 
he  had  not  a  single  suggestion  to  make  —  it  was  unanswerable  on  every 
point  That  pleased  Stanton  as  much  as  it  did  me,  which,  I  confess,  was 
considerable. 

Kiss  the  babies,  the  darlings.  How  I  do  want  to  see  them;  how  much  I 
would  give  to  drop  in  an  hour  only  and  kiss  you  all  and  hear  the  boy  call 
"da-da." 

Farewell,  my  darlings ;  God  bless  you  all.  Your  loving 

MATT. 


TRIAL  OF  W.  W.  BELKNAP. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

TRIAL  OF  W.  W.  BELKNAP. 

A  state  trial  that  attracted  rapt  attention  throughout  the 
American  republic  was  that  of  Wm.  W.  Belknap,  President 
Grant's  secretary  of  war.  In  March,  1876,  the  judiciary 
committee  of  the  house  of  representatives  brought  in  articles 
of  impeachment  against  Belknap  for  "  high  crimes  and  mis 
demeanors."  The  senate,  which  hears  all  impeachments, 
allowed  the  filing  of  the  articles  and  fixed  a  day  for  the  trial 
by  the  "  managers  "  appointed  by  the  house.1 

The  senate  convened  for  the  hearing  on  April  4,  1876, 
Belknap  appearing  with  his  counsel,  Matt.  H.  Carpenter, 
Jeremiah  S.  Black  and  Montgomery  Blair.  Carpenter  at 
once  submitted  that  his  client  was  merely  a  private  citizen, 
having  resigned  the  office  of  secretary  of  war  on  March  2, 
1876,  and  the  senate,  sitting  as  a  court  of  impeachment,  there 
fore  had  no  jurisdiction.  He  filed  an  affidavit  to  this  effect, 
in  which  was  the  additional  averment  that  the  resignation 
was  accepted  on  the  day  it  was  sent  in.  The  question  of 
jurisdiction  was  argued  at  length,  but  finally  decided  ad 
versely  to  Belknap.  Carpenter  then  asked  that  the  trial  be 
postponed  until  December  —  until  after  the  heat  and  acrimony 
of  the  pending  presidential  campaign  had  subsided.  In  argu 
ing  he  said: 

On  the  6th  day  of  April,  1876,  we  find  my  client  is  pleading  that  his  trial 
may  be  postponed  until  there  will  be  no  political  occasion  for  convicting 
him,  and  when  there  will  be  nothing  but  the  ends  of  justice  to  answer;  and 
on  the  6th  day  of  April,  1862,  at  about  the  same  hour,  General  Belknap 
was  in  the  forefront  of  the  line  of  Union  troops  who  made  their  last  stand 
and  rolled  back  the  confederate  forces  on  the  bloody  field  of  Shiloh. 

1  Scott  Lord,  of  New  York;  J.  Proctor  Knott,  of  Kentucky;  William  P. 
Lynde,  of  Wisconsin;  J.  A.  McMahon,  of  Ohio;  G.  A.  Jenks,  of  Pennsyl 
vania  ;  E.  G.  Lapham,  of  New  York,  and  George  F.  Hoar,  of  Massachu 
setts. 


Il8  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

This  brought  forth  applause  which  the  presiding  officer 
could  not  suppress.  Both  political  parties  were  anxiously 
seeking  a  shibboleth  for  the  pending  campaign,  and  expect 
ing  to  wring  one  from  the  ruins  of  private  reputations  by 
this  trial.  The  senate  refused  to  grant  any  adjournment. 
Carpenter  then  argued  on  the  jurisdiction  of  the  senate  over 
a  private  citizen,  saying  if  Belknap  could  be  tried  for  any  act 
done  in  an  office  formerly  held  by  him,  Andrew  Jackson 
might,  under  the  same  principle,  be  impeached  in  his  grave 
for  arresting  a  federal  judge  during  the  siege  of  New  Or 
leans.  In  the  course  of  the  argument  he  quoted  from  the 
remarks  made  by  several  sitting  senators  at  the  trial  of  Wm. 
Blount,  of  Tennessee,  in  which  they  declared  that  "  only 
civil  officers  could  be  impeached."  Belknap,  having  re 
signed,  was  not  a  civil  officer;  but  many  senators  did  not 
propose  to  grant  the  respondent  any  particular  rights  or 
privileges,  nor  proceed  against  him  under  accepted  rules  of 
practice,  if  thereby  they  could  gain  any  advantage  for  their 
respective  partisan  campaigns.  Carpenter  thus  referred  to 
one  of  their  lawless  propositions: 

The  honorable  manager  [Mr.  Lord]  claims  this  court  is  exempt  from 
adherence  to  rules  of  pleading  and  the  methods  of  judicial  tribunals,  and 
that  in  reaching  its  conclusions  it  may  proceed  with  the  freedom  of  the 
wind,  "  which  bloweth  where  it  listeth."  So  is  a  mob  on  the  Rocky  moun 
tains  administering  lynch-law  upon  a  supposed  murderer  exempt  from  such 
rules  and  methods,  and  the  mob  could  as  fairly  pretend  to  be  exercising 
judicial  power  as  could  this  august  tribunal  while  denying  the  principles 
and  overstepping  the  limits  of  the  law. 

On  the  following  day  Carpenter's  motion  to  vacate  the 
order  overruling  the  plea  of  abatement,  or  want  of  jurisdic 
tion,  was  filed  by  Judge  Black,  and  argued  upon  the  ground 
that  it  was  entered  upon  a  mere  majority  vote,  whereas  it 
should  have  been  supported  by  two-thirds  of  the  senators. 
The  motion  was  denied,  and  Belknap  was  ordered  to  plead 
further  to  the  exhibit  of  impeachment. 

Carpenter,  who  was  ill  during  the  entire  trial  —  which  lasted 
nearly  four  months  —  at  one  time  necessitating  an  adjournment 


TRIAL   OF   W.  W.  BELKNAP.  Up 

upon  an  affidavit  of  total  disability  by  Dr.  Bliss,  carried  the 
burden  of  defense,  conducted  the  examination  of  witnesses 
and  kept  the  run  of  the  testimony.  Not  only  this,  but  the 
closing  argument  for  the  defense,  the  principal  one  of  the  trial, 
was  intrusted  to  him.  That  argument,  which  was  begun  on 
Wednesday,  July  25,  occupied  two  days,  and  was  delivered 
from  the  seat  formerly  occupied  by  him  as  a  senator.  It  was 
an  entertaining  effort,  covering  all  the  great  state  trials  of 
civilized  history.  In  spite  of  threatened  imprisonment  of  the 
audience  for  disturbance,  he  was  frequently  interrupted  by 
applause.  In  justification  of  his  argument  for  a  rehearing, 
to  which  some  of  the  senators  had  objected,  he  quoted  the 
highest  authority  in  the  universe,  thus,  receiving  the  marked 
approbation  of  the  populace: 

It  was  after  Aaron  had  directed  the  people  to  mold  a  golden  calf,  and  the 
people  rising  in  the  morning  had  offered  before  it  holocausts  and  peace- 
victims,  and,  after  sitting  down  to  eat  and  drink,  had  risen  up  to  play : 

"  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Go,  get  thee  down." 

Moses  had  been  presenting  the  case  of  Israel,  and  the  Lord  had  heard 
enough  of  it. 

"Goy  get  thee  down;  for  thy  people,  which  thou  broughtest  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt,  have  corrupted  themselves; 

"8.  They  have  turned  aside  quickly  out  of  the  way  which  I  commanded 
them;  they  have  made  them  a  molten  calf,  and  have  worshiped  it,  and 
have  sacrificed  thereunto,  and  said,  These  be  thy  gods,  O  Israel,  which 
have  brought  thee  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt. 

"9.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  I  have  seen  this  people,  and,  be 
hold,  it  is  a  stiff-necked  people : 

"  10.  Now  therefore  let  me  alone,  that  my  wrath  may  wax  hot  against 
them,  and  that  I  may  consume  them :  and'  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great 
nation." 

But  Moses  persisted ! 

"11.  And  Moses  besought  the  Lord  his  God,  and  said:  Lord,  why  doth 
thy  wrath  wax  hot  against  thy  people,  which  thou  hast  brought  forth  out 
of  the  land  of  Egypt  with  great  power,  and  with  a  mighty  hand? 

"12.  Wherefore  should  the  Egyptians  speak  and  say,  For  mischief  did  he 
bring  them  out,  to  slay  them  in  the  mountains,  and  to  consume  them  from 
the  face  of  the  earth?  Turn  from  thy  fierce  wrath,  and  repent  of  this  evil 
against  thy  people. 

"  13.  Remember  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Israel,  thy  servants,  to  whom  thou 


120  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

swarest  by  thine  own  self,  and  saidst  unto  them,  I  will  multiply  your  seed 
as  the  stars  of  heaven,  and  all  this  land  that  I  have  spoken  of  will  I  give 
unto  your  seed,  and  they  shall  inherit  it  forever. 

"  14.  And  the  Lord  repented  of  the  evil  which  he  thought  to  do  unto  his 
people." 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  judgment  of  the  Almighty  was  reconsidered,  and 
upon  the  re-argument  of  Moses  was  reversed. 

Carpenter  and  his  counsel  had  a  task  of  great  delicacy,  for 
Belknap  had  ordered  them  not  to  bring  his  wife  into  the  case 
in  any  manner  whatever,  but  to  defend  him  as  though  he 
were  guilty.  Belknap  was  charged  with  receiving  as  pay 
ment  for  their  appointments,  money  from  those  (C.  P.  Marsh 
and  John  S.  Evans)  to  whom  he  had  given  post-traderships. 
The  theory  of  the  defense  was  that  Mrs.  Belknap  influenced 
her  husband  to  make  the  appointment,  and  Marsh  made  a 
present  of  money  to  her  therefor  without  Belknap's  knowl 
edge,  without  exercising  any  influence  over  him,  and  without 
evil  intent.  In  referring  to  what  grew  out  of  this,  Carpenter 
said: 

Considering  this  branch  of  the  case,  I  think  it  sheds  light  upon  other 
parts  of  the  testimony  and  contributes  greatly  to  support  the  theory  of  the 
respondent's  innocence.  It  certainly  affords  no  evidence  of  guilt,  but  sug 
gests  one  great  moral  lesson  which  I  state  for  the  benefit  of  the  ladies  in  the 
gallerv :  sweethearts  and  wives,  never  keep  a  secret  from  your  lovers  and 
husbands. 

While  making  reference  to  the  peculiar  anomalies  of  poli 
tics  he  roused  the  galleries  with  this  startling  contrast: 

The  part  the  respondent  bore  during  the  war,  is  recorded  history.  Upon 
a  former  occasion  I  referred  to  the  coincidence  that  the  articles  of  impeach 
ment  were  served  upon  him  on  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  and 
at  the  very  hour  of  the  dav  when,  under  the  eye  of  General  Grant,  he 
moved  into  the  line  which  made  a  successful  stand  against  the  fierce  on 
slaught  of  General  Beauregard  and  turned  the  tide  of  battle  in  favor  of  the 
Union.  This  was  the  first  time  the  great  commander  ever  saw  Belknap. 
General  Grant  never  can  forget  the  men  whose  bravery  in  the  war  for  the 
Union  attracted  his  attention.  That  day's  work  made  Belknap  secretary  of 
war.  And,  as  though  to  keep  this  matter  fresh  in  the  mind  of  the  senate, 
on  Friday,  July  7  (see  Congressional  Record},  the  proceedings  of  this  court 
were  suspended  to  pass  a  bill  removing  General  Beauregard's  political  dis- 


TRIAL    OF    W.  W.  BELKNAP.  121 

abilities;  and  then  the  court  resumed  its  proceedings  to  determine  whether 
it  should  impose  political  disabilities  upon  General  Belknap. 

The  brief  summing  up  of  the  evidence  in  that  memorable 
case  and  the  final  plea  by  Carpenter  must  be  perpetuated 
here: 

Evans  has  testified  most  positively  that  he  never  paid  the  secretary,  di 
rectly  or  indirectly,  a  cent  for  his  appointment.  That  the  contract  he  made 
with  Marsh  he  understood  to  be  a  business  transaction  between  himself"  and 
Marsh ;  and  that  he  did  not  understand,  when  he  entered  into  the  contract, 
that  the  secretary  had  or  was  to  have  the  slightest  interest  in  it. 

This  positive,  uncontradicted  and  unquestioned  testimony  of  Evans  re 
duces  the  case  to  this  single  question :  Was  there  such  arrangement,  under 
standing  and  agreement  between  the  secretary  and  Marsh? —  and  let  me 
repeat,  Marsh  is  the  chief  witness  of  the  prosecution,  without  whose  testi 
mony  there  is  no  case;  and  reminding  you  ot  the  legal  maxim  in  relation 
to  witnesses,  canonized  by  ages  of  judicial  experience:  Falsus  in  uno,  Jalsus 
in  omnibus,  let  me  turn  to  the  Record  and  read  you  the  questions  I  put  to 
Mr.  Marsh  and  the  answers  he  gave: 

"  Question.  Was  there  any  agreement  on  your  part  to  pay  Mr.  Belknap 
any  money  in  consideration  that  he  would  appoint  you  post- trader  at  Fort 
Sill? 

"  Answer.     There  was  not 

"Q.  (By  Mr.  Carpenter.)     At  any  timer 

"  A.  At  any  time. 

"  Q.  Was  there  ever  any  agreement  between  you  and  Mr.  Belknap  that 
you  should  pay  him  any  pecuniary  consideration  for  or  in  consideration  of 
his  appointing  Mr.  Evans  post- trader  at  Fort  Sill? 

"  A.  There  was  not. 

"Q.  Was  there  ever  any  agreement  between  you  and  Mr.  Belknap  that 
you  would  pay  him  any  money  or  other  valuable  consideration  in  consider* 
ation  of  his  continuing  Mr.  Evans  as  post- trader  at  Fort  Sill? 

"A.  Never. 

"Q.  So  far  as  you  know,  was  not  the  only  inducement  leading  to  that  ap 
pointment  the  kindness  which  you  and  your  wife  had  shown  to  Mrs.  Bel 
knap  at  your  house? 

"  A.  That  certainly  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  it,  I  presume. 

"Q.  Did  you  make,  or  claim  to  have,  any  bill  against  him  for  anything 
done  for  Mrs.  Belknap? 

"  A.  No,  sir. 

"Q.  Your  treatment  of  her  was  entirely  gratuitous? 

"  A.  Yes,  sir. 

"Q.  But  of  course  led  to  a  feeling  of  friendship  between  the  families? 

41  A.  Yes,  sir. 


122  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

"  Q.  You  say  that  the  friendship  which  arose  from  the  fact  that  Mrs. 
Belknap  had  been  sick  at  your  house,  and  been  kindly  treated,  had  a  great 
deal  to  do  with  that  appointment;  was  there,  apart  from  that  friendly  feel 
ing,  any  consideration  moving  from  you  to  Belknap  to  procure  that  ap 
pointment? 

"A.  None." 

If  this  testimony  is  true,  it  ends  this  case.  If  not  true,  it  is  wilfully  and 
corruptly  false.  Marsh  must  know  whether  there  was  or  not  any  agree 
ment  in  this  behalf  between  the  respondent  and  himself,  and  it  is  well- 
settled  law,  that,  if  a  jury  believe  that  a  witness  has  committed  wilful 
perjury  in  one  part  of  his  testimony,  they  are  at  liberty  to  disregard  his  tes 
timony  altogether.  , 

Now,  senators,  let  me  appeal  to  you,  upon  your  honor  and  your  con 
science —  for  that  is  where  the  case  must  rest — whether  in  a  case  like 
this,  where  every  supposed  criminating  circumstance  is  fully  explained,  and 
every  ground  for  suspicion  is  entirely  removed;  and  where  the  only  direct 
testimony,  and  that,  too,  from  the  chief  prosecuting  witness,  fully  and  fairly 
and  absolutely  contradicts  all  presumption  of  criminalitv,  you  can  convict 
this  respondent.  Upon  what  can  a  conviction  rest?  Every  circumstance 
relied  upon  for  inference  of  criminality  fully  explained,  every  ground  of 
suspicion  removed,  the  only  direct  evidence  in  the  case  completely  acquit 
ting  the  respondent  of  any  criminal  intent,  corrupt  agreement  or  purpose, 
how  are  you  to  find  him  guilty?  You  are  sworn  to  judge  this  matter 
impartially  and  according  to  law.  You  can  not  fall  back  upon  misguided 
public  opinion,  nor  upon  the  clamor  of  the  press.  No  matter  what  the 
people  believe,  no  matter  what  the  press  declares  —  -what  does  the  proof 
establish?  For  your  judgment  in  this  case  you  must  answer,  not  to  editors, 
not  to  the  excited  and  misled  people,  but  to  God,  who  is  truth  itself.  *  *  * 

Is  it  possible  that  in  1876  a  citizen  before  the  highest  tribunal  in  the  land 
is  to  be  convicted  of  a  crime  which  rests  in  intent,  when  no  circumstantial 
testimony  worth  a  fig  bears  upon  it,  and  when  the  only  witnesses  who  have 
any  positive  knowledge  or  can  give  any  direct  testimony,  swear  to  his  per 
fect  innocence?  Eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-six,  the  centennial  year  in 
the  life  of  a  great  nation,  its  highest  tribunal  in  session,  exercising  the  most 
awful  jurisdiction  ol  the  government;  trying  a  citizen  who  has  filled  sta 
tions  of  high  trust,  and  rendered  gallant  service  in  the  field ;  and  he  de 
manding  justice  —  justice,  that  a  peasant  may  demand  from  a  king  — 
justice,  that  any  court  of  law  would  award  to  the  lowest  miscreant  —  is 
justice  to  be  denied  to  him  because  the  exigencies  of  a  political  campaign 
demand  his  conviction? 

When  this  was  uttered,  in  clarion  voice  and  with  stirring 
effect,  Carpenter  stood  half-way  down  the  centre  aisle  of  the 
senate  chamber,  every  eye  riveted  upon  his  splendid  figure 

i 


TRIAL   OF   W.  W.  BELKNAP.  123 

and  every  ear  strained  to  catch  his  lightest  word.  Suddenly 
stopping  for  an  instant,  he  strode  directly  to  the  front  desk 
in  a  startling  and  impressive  manner,  and  pointing  his  finger 
at  acting  Vice  President  Ferry,  finished  the  sentence :  "  No, 
Mr.  President,  this  senate  will  not  yield  to  such  a  considera 
tion,  will  not  fix  such  a  blot  upon  our  national  escutcheon!  " 

That  scene  will  never  be  forgotten  by  those  who  saw  it  — 
a  drama  tragic  and  effective  beyond  description.  It  must 
have  recalled  vividly  to  every  auditor  that  prodigious  denoue 
ment  in  the  trial  of  the  dean  of  St.  Asaph,  where  Erskine 
stands,  like  a  tiger  at  bay,  between  the  threats  of  a  perverse 
and  wicked  court  and.the  equitable  rights  of  his  client. 

The  gifted  pen  of  the  late  John  W.  Forney  left  a  word- 
painting  of  the  occasion: 

Carpenter's  appearance  on  the  scene  was  characteristic  of  the  man. 
Strikingly  handsome,  he  was  the  central  figure  in  one  of  the  rarely  im 
pressive  incidents  of  the  upper  chamber.  He  had  the  full,  open  face  of 
Beecher,  with  a  head  of  abnormal  massiveness.  His  eyes,  a  liquid  blue, 
beamed  with  an  irrepressible  merriment.  His  hair,  tinged  with  gray,  fell  in  a 
loose  fringe  to  the  base  of  the  brain,  relieving  him  of  any  appearance  of 
mere  foppishness.  His  voice  was  a  combination  of  the  flute  and  nightin 
gale.  He  might  have  talked  commonplace  and  held  an  audience  en 
chanted  the  livelong  day.  His  speech  was  a  mingling  of  biting  wit,  exu 
berant  fancy  and  unerring  logic.  Speech  inebriated  him.  He  rose  and 
rose  to  higher  flights  of  fancy,  missing  no  detail,  daunted  by  no  figure,  no 
matter  how  complex,  and  never  losing  the  sequence,  no  matter  how  com 
plicated  the  parentheses.  It  was  by  his  consummate  cleverness  that  the 
senate  took  courage  to  dismiss  the  impeachment. 

On  July  3ist  the  final  vote  in  the  senate  was  had,  each 
senator,  on  his  feet,  voting  orally  on  all  of  the  five  articles 
and  seventeen  specifications  of  the  exhibit  separately,  and  on 
that  day  a  judgment  of  acquittal  was  entered.  Among  those 
who  voted  not  guilty  were  T.  O.  Howe  and  Angus  Cam 
eron,  senators  from  Wisconsin. 

General  Belknap  has  always  been  of  the  opinion  that  his 
acquittal,  during  a  period  of  bitter  partisan  feeling  and  in 
tense  political  excitement,  when  Abraham  was  willing  to  offer 
up  Isaac  to  appease  the  cry  of  corruption,  was  due  largely, 


124  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

if  not  wholly,  to  the  personal  influence  of  Carpenter  and  the 
powerful  manner  in  which  he  presented  the  case. 

The  weather  was  destructively  hot  during  the  progress  of 
the  trial,  and  Carpenter  was  not  in  good  health  even  when 
spring  opened.  The  burden  of  the  case,  which  he  fought 
against  the  combined  ability,  adroitness  and  determination  of 
both  houses  of  congress,  was  put  upon  him,  both  as  to  the 
law  and  the  facts,  and  when  his  client  received  a  verdict  of 
acquittal  he  was  so  worn  and  prostrated  that  weeks  passed 
before  he  fully  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  effort. 

When  the  exhibit  of  impeachment  was  made,  Belknap 
consulted  privately  with  Justice  Miller  as  to  who  should  be 
engaged  as  counsel.  "  Matt.  Carpenter  and  Judge  Black," 
was  Miller's  reply ;  "  the  best  lawyers  in  America." 


THE  ELECTORAL  COMMISSION.  12$ 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  ELECTORAL  COMMISSION. 

Previous  to  the  arrival  of  the  day  fixed  for  counting  the 
electoral  votes  claimed  to  have  been  cast  in  1876  for  R.  B. 
Hayes  and  S.  J.  Tilden,  the  opposing  candidates  for  Presi 
dent,  it  had  been  ascertained  there  would  be  a  contest  as  to 
one  elector  in  Wisconsin  and  all  the  electors  in  Florida, 
Louisiana,  Oregon  and  South  Carolina.  As  the  loss  of  one 
of  the  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  votes  claimed  for  Hayes 
would  give  the  Presidency  to  Tilden,  the  public  was  natu 
rally  led  into  some  excitement  by  this  dispute.  The  country 
was  aroused  from  ocean  to  ocean,  and  civil  war  was  appre 
hended. 

In  order  to  settle  the  question  without  strife  or  disturb 
ance,  the  electoral  commission  was  organized  by  act  of  con 
gress,  approved  January  29,  1877.  It  consisted  of  five  sen 
ators  —  Geo.  F.  Edmunds,  Fred.  T.  Frelinghuysen,  Oliver 
P.  Morton,  Allen  G.  Thurman1  and  Thomas  F.  Bayard;1 
five  representatives  —  Henry  B.  Payne,1  Eppa  Hunton,1  Geo. 
F.  Hoar,  James  A.  Garfield  and  Josiah  G.  Abbott,1  and  five 
associate  justices  of  the  United  States  supreme  court  — 
Nathan  Clifford,1  W.  Strong,  Joseph  P.  Bradley,  Sam.  F. 
Miller  and  Stephen  J.  Field.1 

The  commission  had  all  the  authority  of  both  houses  or 
either  house  of  congress  as  to  taking  testimony  and  admit 
ting  evidence,  and  was,  under  its  own  rules,  to  enter  upon 
an  investigation  whenever  more  than  one  set  of  returns 
should  be  received  from  any  state,  and  was  to  make  a  report 
of  its  decision  to  congress.  But  that  decision  was  not  to  de 
prive  the  defeated  candidate  of  the  right  to  try  the  title  of 
his  opponent,  under  qtco  warranto  proceedings,  to  the  office 
of  President. 

1  Democrats. 


126  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

The  opposing  candidates  were  permitted  to  be  represented 
by  counsel  before  the  commission.  Wm.  H.  Barnum,  chair 
man  of  the  democratic  national  committee,  went  quickly 
to  Carpenter  and  asked  if  he  was  willing  to  be  retained  to 
argue  the  Lousiana  feature  of  Tilden's  case  for  a  fee  of 
$10,000.  Before  giving  a  definite  answer  to  Barnum  he 
was  approached  by  Zach.  Chandler,  chairman  of  the  re 
publican  committee,  who  inquired  whether  he  would  act  as 
counsel  for  Hayes.  Yes,  he  would ;  but,  telling  Chandler  of 
Barnum's  proposition,  Carpenter  stipulated  that  the  arrange 
ments  between  them  must  be  completed  on  a  given  day,  or 
he  should  conclude  the  republicans  did  not  desire  his  serv 
ices.  To  this  Chandler  agreed.  However,  owing  to  the 
excitement  of  the  time  and  the  enormous  pressure  of  polit 
ical  business,  the  day  fixed  passed,  and  he  forgot  to  keep  the 
promise.  The  other  chairman  was  more  alert  and  prompt, 
and  the  moment  the  stipulated  time  expired,  paid  Carpenter 
a  retainer  on  behalf  of  Tilden.  Two  days  later  Chandler 
appeared  for  the  purpose  of  completing  the  contract,  and 
was  informed  by  Carpenter  that  it  was  too  late,  he  had  re 
ceived  Tilden's  retainer.  Both  felt  deeply  chagrined  over 
the  unfortunate  outcome  of  a  little  negligence  that  was 
wholly  natural,  Chandler  being  particularly  bitter  in  denun 
ciation  of  himself. 

These  circumstances  were  never  given  out  to  have  their 
proper  effect  on  the  public  mind,  and  Carpenter  was  brought 
under  a  torrent  of  the  severest  censure.1  The  republican 
masses,  not  understanding  the  scope  of  professional  privi 
leges,  entertained  the  erroneous  impression  that  he  was 

1  When  the  clamor  of  the  press  against  Carpenter's  professional  engage 
ments  was  loudest  and  most  unreasonable,  his  wife  wrote  that  she  was 
sorry  and  annoyed,  and  asked  whether  he  could  not  engage  in  causes  that 
would  please  the  newspapers.  In  his  reply  occurs  this  sentence: 

"While  I  live  and  have  my  health,  I  must  walk  the  mountain  ranges  of 
the  profession,  swept  by  the  storm  of  human  hate  and  passion.  Neither 
self-respect  nor  my  love  for  you  will  permit  me  to  seek  the  obscurity  and 
consequent  shelter  of  deep  valleys  and  smooth  meadows." 


THE   ELECTORAL    COMMISSION.  1 27 

actively  engaged,  in  the  fullness  of  his  heart,  in  an  attempt  to 
place  the  democracy  on  the  throne  of  power.  No  amount 
of  explanation  could,  at  that  time,  change  the  public  belief. 
The  democrats  understood  Carpenter's  eminence  as  a  consti 
tutional  lawyer,  his  perfect  grasp  of  the  chaos  and  wicked 
ness  of  Louisiana  politics,  and  the  influence  of  his  arguments 
upon  the  members  of  the  supreme  court,  five  of  whom  were 
to  sit  on  the  commission.  They  engaged  him,  therefore,  as 
a  lawyer,  not  as  a  republican  or  as  a  politician.  The  elect 
oral  commission  was  the  highest  tribunal  that  ever  sat  on 
the  American  or  any  other  continent,  and  the  matter  to  be 
decided  by  it,  that  of  who  was  rightfully  entitled  to  stand  at 
the  head  of  the  American  republic  for  the  ensuing  four 
years,  was  beyond  all  the  most  important  of  any  ever  sub 
mitted  to  human  judgment  for  rightful  adjudication.  The 
peace  and  prosperity,  and,  it  seemed  to  many,  the  very  life 
and  form  of  government  of  a  powerful  nation  were  at  stake. 
Carpenter  felt  this  in  all  its  force,  for  he  said  in  opening  the 
argument : 

I  beg  your  honors  to  pause  a  moment  and  consider  the  lesson  to  be 
taught  to  the  politicians  of  this  country  by  this  day's  work.  This  is  no 
ordinary  occasion,  no  ordinary  tribunal,  no  ordinary  cause.  An  emergency 
has  arisen  which  has  induced  congress  to  create  a  tribunal  never  before 
known  in  this  country ;  a  tribunal  composed  of  whatever  is  most  distin 
guished  for  integrity,  for  learning,  for  judicial  and  legislative  experience,  to 
conduct  the  nation  through  a  great  crisis.  Your  decision  will  stand  as  a 
land-mark  in  the  history  of  this  country. 

Therefore,  to  be  selected  out  of  hundreds  of  able  and  dis 
tinguished  jurists  to  specially  argue  the  most  complicated 
and  important  branch  of  the  questions  involved,  that  of  who 
had  been  duly  appointed  presidential  electors  in  the  distracted 
state  of  Louisiana,  was  an  honor  no  ambitious  lawyer  could 
decline  simply  because  his  client  chanced  to  entertain  politi 
cal  tenets  not  in  accord  with  his  own.  His  friends,  also, 
looked  upon  it  as  a  professional  compliment  of  the  highest 
character.  Anticipating,  however,  the  assaults  that  might 


128  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

be  made  upon  his  political  patriotism  and  integrity,  he  pref 
aced  his  argument  with  a  plain  statement  of  his  position: 

Permit  me  to  state  in  the  outset  why  I  appear  here.  It  is  not  because 
Mr.  Tilden'was  my  choice  for  President;  nor  is  my  judgment  in  this  case 
at  all  affected  by  friendship  for  him  as  a  man,  for  I  have  not  the  honor  of 
a  personal  acquaintance  with  him.  I  voted  against  him  on  the  yth  of  No 
vember  last,  and  if  this  tribunal  could  order  a  new  election  I  should  vote 
against  him  again ;  believing  as  I  do  that  the  accession  of  the  democratic 
party  to  power  at  his  time  would  be  the  greatest  calamity  that  could  befall 
our  country  except  one,  and  that  one  greater  calamity  would  be  to  keep 
them  out  by  falsehood  and  fraud.  I  appear  here  professionally,  to  assert, 
and,  if  possible,  establish  the  right  of  ten  thousand  legal  voters  of  Louisi 
ana,  who,  without  accusation  or  proof,  indictment  or  trial,  notice  or  hear 
ing,  have  been  disfranchised  by  four  persons  incorporated  with  perpetual 
succession  under  the  name  and  style  of  "  the  returning-board  of  Louisiana." 
I  appear,  also,  in  the  interests  of  the  next  republican  candidate  for  Presi 
dent,  whoever  he  may  be,  to  insist  that  this  tribunal  shall  settle  principles 
by  which,  if  we  carry  Wisconsin  for  him  by  ten  thousand  majority,  as  I 
hope  we  may,  no  canvassing-board,  by  fraud,  or  induced  by  bribery,  shall 
be  able  to  throw  the  vote  of  that  state  against  him  and  against  the  voice 
and  will  of  our  people. 

But  as  the  masses  generally  had  no  knowledge  that  Carpen 
ter  thus  explained  his  political  status,  nor  that  he  refused 
to  argue  in  favor  of  any  of  the  disputed  Tilden  electors  save 
those  from  Louisiana,  the  republicans,  of  his  own  state 
especially,  were  variously  incensed,  astonished  and  sorrowful 
when  it  was  announced  that  he  had  really  appeared  for  the 
democrats.  They  seemed  wholly  unable  to  separate  Car 
penter  the  advocate  from  Carpenter  the  distinguished  repub 
lican  citizen  and  senator,  and  sincerely  felt  that  the  public 
record  of  the  latter  had  been  contaminated  and  his  party 
patriotism  shaken  by  the  professional  engagements  of  the 
former.  Although  such  were  the  conclusions  of  that  strained 
and  tempestuous  hour,  it  will  not  be  the  judgment  of  pos 
terity.  All  will  then  see  that  the  tender  of  a  retainer  in  that 
case  was  a  proud  professional  triumph,  equal  to  his  loftiest 
achievements  as  an  orator  and  senator,  such  a  garland  to  be 
added  to  the  chaplet  of  fame  as  no  man  could  trample  beneath 


THE    ELECTORAL    COMMISSION.  129 

his  feet  without  a  sacrifice  greater  than  men  are  asked  or 
expected  to  make. 

In  his  argument  Carpenter  held  that  the  act  creating  the 
electoral  commission  was  constitutional,  and  that  the  tribunal 
thus  created  had  authority  to  make  all  the  investigations  con 
templated.  He  then  showed  that,  although  the  Hayes  elect 
ors  in  Louisiana  were  defeated  by  about  eight  thousand 
votes,  the  returning-board  threw  out  ten  thousand,  and  there 
upon  declared  the  Tilden  electors  defeated  by  about  two 
thousand  votes.  This  he  held  to  be  unconstitutional,  as  the 
returning-board  had  assumed  judicial  when  it  only  possessed 
ministerial  powers,  and,  by  throwing  out  their  votes,  disfran 
chised  ten  thousand  citizens  of  the  state  of  Louisiana,  for  the 
alleged  but  insufficient  reason  that  other  voters  had  commit- 

O 

ted  some  crime. 

Louisiana  once  enacted  a  law  providing  that  in  case  three 
persons  should  certify,  in  a  certain  manner,  that  riot,  tumult, 
intimidation  or  bribery  affected  the  result  at  any  poll  or  vot 
ing  place,  the  returning-board  should  investigate  the  alleged 
facts,  and,  if  found  true,  exclude  the  entire  vote  of  that  pre 
cinct.  Under  this  law  the  board  acted,  though  no  such 
sworn  statement  as  its  provisions  required  accompanied  any 
of  the  returns.  Therefore,  had  the  law  been  constitutional, 
which  Carpenter  contended  it  was  not,  because  nobody  can 
be  disfranchised  except  for  crime  of  which  he  has  been  duly 
convicted,  there  was  no  authority  for  the  board  to  proceed  to 
any  investigation  or  throw  out  any  votes.  He  also  contended 
that  William  P.  Kellogg,  being  governor  of  the  state,  could 
not  certify  to  his  own  election  as  presidential  elector,  nor 
legally  hold  at  the  same  time,  which  in  fact  he  did,  the  two 
offices  of  governor  and  elector;  and  that  Brewster  and 
Levissee,  two  Hayes  electors,  could  not,  without  violating 
section  i  of  article  2  of  the  constitution,  perform  the  func 
tions  of  their  office,  because  they  were  both,  at  the  moment 
of  their  election,  holding  offices  of  profit  and  trust  under  the 
federal  government. 
9 


I3O  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

He  argued  that  the  commission  could  go  behind  the  cer 
tificates  and  the  returns  and  discover  these  facts,  and  having 
ascertained  them,  overturn  the  results  accomplished  in  viola 
tion  of  the  law.  He  admitted  there  had  been  "murders, 
maimings  and  whippings  in  Louisiana,"  but  declared  "these 
fell  upon  individuals,"  and  did  not  form  a  lawful  reason  for 
the  disfranchisement  of  even  one  voter,  much  less  ten  thou 
sand.  He  said: 

If  you  shall  say  of  the  Hayes  electors  that  although  they  were  defeated 
by  the  people  by  eight  thousand  majority,  and  although  two  of  them  were 
forbidden  by  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  to  be  electors,  and  four 
others  were  so  forbidden  by  the  constitution  of  the  state,  yet  having  been 
counted  in  by  fraud,  and  having  in  fact  acted,  although  in  violation  of 
express  constitutional  provisions  state  and  federal,  they  were  duly 
appointed,  and  their  votes  must  be  accepted,  you  'will  thereby  declare  that  a 
fraud  is  as  good  as  a  majority. 

The  commission  decided  by  a  vote  of  eight  to  seven 
(contrary  to  Carpenter's  argument)  that  it  was  not  compe 
tent  under  the  constitution  to  go  into  any  evidence  aliunde 
the  papers  or  certificates  opened  by  the  president,  of  the  sen 
ate,  to  prove  that  other  persons  than  those  certified  by  the 
governor  of  Louisiana  had  been  chosen  electors;  nor  com 
petent  to  prove  that  any  electors  so  certified  held  at  the  time 
of  their  election  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  the  United 
States.  And  so  the  eight  votes  of  Louisiana,  upon  the  face 
of  the  returns  sent  to  the  senate,  though  defeated  by  the 
people,  were  counted  for  Hayes.1 

Carpenter  became  ill  while  making  his  argument,  from 
the  smoke  of  the  candles  in  the  United  States  supreme  court 
room,  and  the  commission  adjourned  over  from  the  evening 
of  February  I3th  to  the  morning  of  Wednesday,  February 
1 5th,  at  his  request. 

He  was  so  thoroughly  in  the  habit  of  making  his  exami 
nation  of  every  subject  from  a  strictly  legal  and  constitutional 
stand-point,  that  frequently  he  failed  to  discern  party  lines. 

l  By  the  votes  of  S.  F.  Miller,  W.  Strong,  J.  P.  Bradley,  G.  F.  Edmunds, 
O.  P.  Morton,  F.  T.  Frelinghuysen,  J.  A.  Garfield  and  Geo.  F.  Hoar. 


THE   ELECTORAL    COMMISSION.  13! 

Always,  after  he  became  allied  with  the  republicans,  he 
contented  himself  with  the  theory  that  by  this  rule  he  could 
not  often  go  astray  in  a  party  sense,  for  his  party  was  almost 
always  in  the  right,  as  were  also  the  law  and  the  constitution. 
He  was  considerably  chafed,  however,  by  the  clamor  his 
appearance  as  a  mere  attorney  for  Tilden  brought  from 
numerous  republican  sources.  He  received  hundreds  of 
letters  from  those  who  did  not  understand  that  an  attorney 
can  not,  in  accepting  retainers,  be  limited  any  more  by  party 
than  religious  lines,  either  berating  him  for  "  abandoning  re 
publicanism,"  as  they  put  it,  or  expressing  sorrow  over  the 
injury  his  course  would  entail  upon  the  party.  He  answered 
those  letters,  and  this,  to  a  well-known  gentleman  of  Colum 
bia  county,  is  preserved: 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C,  February  20,  1877. 
MR.  G.  C.  BUTTERFIELD: 

Dear  Sir: — Yours  of  the  — th  was  duly  received.  The  ink  with  which 
it  was  written  was  so  pale  that  I  found  it  impossible  to  read  it.  It  may 
have  been  wet  in  the  passage.  If  it  is  about  anything  that  you  are  inter 
ested  in  you  will  probably  write  again.  The  weather  here  is  delightful  and 
the  excitement  regarding  the  election  is  subsiding. 

Yours  truly,  MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 

Accompanying  the  bland  little  note  was  a  bound  copy  of 
Carpenter's  speech  before  the  electoral  commission.  A 
daintier  packet  of  keener  sarcasm  was  never  more  graciously 
and  courteously  sent. 


132  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

MISCELLANEOUS  CAUSES. 

One  of  the  suits  that  occupied  Carpenter's  attention  during 
a  series  of  years  was  that  of  Hasbrouck  against  the  city  of 
Milwaukee  for  about  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars  on  a 
dredging  contract.  It  was  begun  in  1859  and  not  settled 
until  after  the  close  of  the  Rebellion. 

A  case  of  considerable  importance,  in  which  his  theories 
were  fully  confirmed  and  adopted  by  the  court,  was  that  of 
John  Druecker  vs.  Edward  Salomon.  The  democrats  of 
Ozaukee  county,  in  Wisconsin,  resisted  the  draft  of  1862. 
They  not  only  drove  out  W.  A.  Pors,  the  draft  commis 
sioner,  but  indulged  in  riot  and  bloodshed.  Upon  orders 
from  Washington,  Gov.  Salomon  sent  troops  to  quell  the  riot 
and  arrest  the  rioters.  Druecker,  a  leader,  was  one  of  those 
arrested  and  thrown  into  prison.  Subsequently  he  brought 
suit  against  the  governor  for  false  imprisonment,  and  Car 
penter  conducted  the  defense.  The  case  was  tried  before 
Judge  Arthur  MacArthur,  who,  in  an  opinion  of  some  length, 
in  consonance  with  Carpenter's  argument,  gave  judgment 
against  the  rioter.  It  was  the  first  case  of  the  kind  ever 
brought  to  final  judgment  in  this  country,  and  Carpenter 
was  therefore  a  pioneer  in  searching  out  and  setting  forth 
the  principles  governing  in  such  matters. 

MILITARY  AND  MARTIAL  LAWS. 

In  April,  1865,  Carpenter  wrote  an  opinion  for  Brig.-Gen. 
T.  C.  H.  Smith  on  "  martial  law."  It  was  somewhat  elaborate, 
and  set  forth  with  indefective  clearness  the  wide  difference 
between  martial  and  military  laws,  which  is  not  under 
stood,  on  the  average,  by  more  than  one  lawyer  in  ten.  It 
covered  the  ground  so  completely,  and  so  plainly  defined  the 
duties  of  provost-marshals  and  executors  of  martial  law,  that 


MYRA   BRAD  WELL.  '133 

it  was  published  in  pamphlet  form  and  circulated  through 
the  south  for  the  enlightenment  and  guidance  of  those  in 
command  of  military  districts  in  the  lately  rebellious  states, 
and  for  the  benefit  of  courts  and  commissions  organized  or 
acting  under  them.  It  passed  as  standard  authority  during 
the  early  periods  of  reconstruction,  and  was  pronounced  one 
of  the  clearest  and  ablest  expositions  of  the  constitution  and 
the  laws  concerning  those  subjects  ever  given  to  the  public. 

MYRA  BRADWELL. 

A  case  that  attracted  great  attention  during  its  pendency, 
being  the  first  of  its  kind  taken  to  the  United  States  supreme 
court  after  the  adoption  of  the  fourteenth  amendment,  was 
that  of  Myra  Bradwell,  plaintiff  in  error,  vs.  The  State  of 
Illinois.  The  supreme  court  of  that  state  had  refused  her 
admission  to  practice  at  its  bar,  upon  the  ground  that  her 
clients  could  not  enforce  any  contracts  made  with  her  as  a 
married  woman.  Carpenter  took  the  case  for  review  on  a 
writ  of  error  to  the  United  States  supreme  court,  and  argued 
it  before  that  tribunal  at  the  December  term,  i87i.1  He 
held  that  it  was  not  a  question  of  taste,  propriety  or  polite 
ness,  but  of  civil  right.  The  argument  that  clients  could  not 
enforce  contracts  with  Mrs.  Bradwell,  because  she  was  a 
married  woman,  he  declared  was  frivolous,  as  every  attor 
ney,  being  an  officer  of  the  court,  can  be,  for  unprofessional 
conduct  or  malpractice,  fined,  imprisoned,  or  disbarred,  or 
visited  with  all  three  of  these  punishments.  He  thus  carried 
his  argument: 

If  the  legislature  may,  under  pretense  of  fixing  qualifications,  declare  that 
no  female  citizen  shall  be  permitted  to  practice  law,  they  may  as  well  de 
clare  that  no  colored  citizen  shall  practice  law.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  only  provision  in  the  constitution  which  secures  to  colored  citizens 
admission  to  the  bar,  or  pursuit  of  other  ordinary  avocations  of  life,  is  that 
44  No  state  shall  make  or  enforce  any  law  which  shall  abridge  the  privileges 
or  immunities  of  a  citizen."  If  this  provision  does  not  open  the  profes 
sions,  all  the  avocations,  all  the  methods  by  which  a  man  may  pursue  hap- 

1 1 6  Wallace,  p.  130. 


134  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

piness,  to  the  colored  as  well  as  the  white,  then  the  legislatures  of  the  states 
may  exclude  colored  men  from  all  the  honorable  pursuits  of  life,  and  com 
pel  them  to  support  their  existence  in  a  condition  of  servitude.  And  if  this 
provision  does  protect  the  colored  citizen,  then  it  protects  every  citizen, 
black  or  white,  male  or  female.  *  *  *  While  a  legislature  may  pre 
scribe  qualifications  for  entering  upon  this  pursuit  of  the  law,  it  can 
not,  under  the  guise  of  fixing  qualifications,  exclude  a  class  of  citizens  from 
admission  to  the  bar.  The  legislature  may  say  at  what  age  candidates  shall 
be  admitted  —  may  elevate  or  depress  the  standard  of  learning;  but  a  qual 
ification  to  which  a  whole  class  of  citizens  can  never  attain  is  not  a  regula 
tion  of  admission,  but  it  is,  as  to  such  citizens,  prohibition.  *  *  *  I 
maintain  that  the  fourteenth  amendment  opens  to  every  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  male  or  female,  black  or  white,  married  or  single,  the  honor 
able  professions,  as  well  as  the  servile  employments  of  life;  and  that  no 
citizen  can  be  excluded  from  any  one  of  them.  The  broad  shield  ot  the 
constitution  is  over  them  all,  and  protects  each  in  that  measure  of  success 
which  his  or  her  individual  merits  may  secure. 

The  court,  by  Justice  Miller,  held  that  "No  provision  of 
the  federal  constitution  had  been  violated  by  the  refusal  of 
the  court  of  Illinois  to  admit  Mrs.  Bradwell;  that  the  right 
to  practice  law  is  not  a  privilege  or  immunity  of  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  within  the  meaning  of  the  fourteenth 
amendment  of  the  constitution ;  and  that  the  power  of  a  state 
to  prescribe  qualifications  for  admission  to  the  bar  of  its 
courts  is  unaffected  by  that  amendment." 

It  will  be  observed  that  Carpenter  admitted  the  right  to 
prescribe  qualifications,  but  denied  the  power  to  prohibit,  for 
extraneous  reasons,  persons  who  possessed  those  prescribed 
qualifications.  Chief  Justice  Salmon  P.  Chase  dissented  from 
the  opinion  and  the  judgment  of  the  court,  believing  Car 
penter's  position  to  be  right. 

THE  SLAUGHTER-HOUSE  CASES. 

There  is  no  exercise  of  human  authority,  in  despotic  or 
republican  countries,  so  far-reaching  and  so  almighty  as  that 
of  the  police  power  of  states  and  municipal  corporations.  In 
the  very  nature  of  things  it  must  be  more  or  less  undefined 
and  almost  absolutely  unlimited.  Under  it  the  health,  safety, 
morality  and  good  order  of  communities  are  secured.  This 


THE   SLAUGHTER-HOUSE   CASES.  135 

was  well  set  forth  in  the  noted  "  slaughter-house  cases "  of 
New  Orleans. 

In  1869  the  legislature  of  Louisiana  passed  an  act  incor 
porating  the  "  Crescent  City  Live  Stock  Landing  and 
Slaughter-house  Company,"  with  exclusive  privilege  to  main 
tain,  for  twenty-five  years,  yards,  landings  and  slaughter 
houses,  in  a  particular  place  and  no  other.  The  law  provided 
that  no  cattle  or  food  animals  should  be  landed  or  slaughtered 
in  New  Orleans  except  in  the  Crescent  City  Company's  ab 
attoir.  This  compelled  all  slaughtering,  for  a  certain  reason 
able  fee,  to  be  done  on  the  company's  premises,  and  against 
it  the  butchers  demurred.  Several  of  them  joined  their 
strength  and  engaged  John  A.  Campbell,  the  ablest  attorney 
in  the  south,  and  others  to  bring  a  suit  for  the  destruction  of 
the  "  monopoly,"  as  they  termed  it.  The  supreme  court  of 
Louisiana  decided  against  the  butchers  and  in  favor  of  the 
validity  of  the  law.  An  appeal  was  taken  to  the  United 
States  supreme  court  by  writ  of  error,  and  Carpenter  was 
engaged  as  principal  counsel  for  the  state  of  Louisiana  and 
the  Crescent  City  Company,  assisted  by  Jeremiah  S.  Black 
and  J.  T.  Durant. 

He  argued  that  the  act  creating  the  slaughter-house  cor 
poration  was  not  a  violation  of  the  thirteenth  or  fourteenth 
amendment,  as  had  been  set  forth  by  appellants,  and  that  the 
granting  of  exclusive  privileges  to  .a  few,  properly  guarded, 
when  clearly,  as  in  this  case,  it  was  for  the  health,  life  and 
comfort  of  a  great  community,  was  a  police  regulation 
within  the  power  of  state  legislatures  and  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  amendments  of  the  constitution.  The  matter  was  the 
most  important  of  that  kind  that  had  reached  the  supreme 
court,  the  attorneys  on  each  side  were  the  ablest  in  the  Union, 
and  the  argument  was  literally  a  battle  of  giants.  The  court, 
by  Justice  Miller,  in  April,  1872,  affirmed  the  decision  of  the 
state  court,  and  Carpenter  was  victorious.1  His  conduct  in  this 

1  At  the  conclusion  of  the  case  Carpenter  sent  to  New  Orleans  the  now 
noted  telegram:  "The  banded  butchers  are  busted.  Matt." 


136  UFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

case  gave  him  strong  prestige  in  the  south,  and  subsequently 
several  very  important  professional  engagements  from  that 
section. 

THE  WHISKY  CASES. 

In  1875  the  business  of  illicit  distilling  had  grown  to  such 
enormous  proportions  that  all  the  knavery  of  dishonest  sub 
ordinates  in  the  federal  service  could  no  longer  hide  its  exist 
ence  from  the  government.  Secretary  B.  H.  Bristow  at  once 
organized  a  strong  "system  of  prosecution,  stiffened  and  sup 
ported  by  President  Grant's  famous  epigram,  "Let  no 
guilty  man  escape,"  and  caused  numerous  arrests  of  the 
wealthiest  men  in  several  communities  in  Wisconsin,  Illinois 
and  Missouri.  In  Wisconsin  the  illicit  distillers  were  congre 
gated  in  Milwaukee,  and  Carpenter  was  engaged  to  defend 
them.  This  he  did  with  indomitable  pertinacity,  making  in 
December,  1875,  'm  ^e  case  recorded  in  the  reports  as  the 
"  United  States  vs.  Three  Tons  of  Coal,"  his  great  argument 
maintaining  the  sacredness  from  search  of  the  books,  docu 
ments,  accounts  and  private  papers  of  any  citizen  engaged 
in  business.  The  court  did  not,  in  the  case  of  distillers,  who 
are  subject  to  public  espionage  and  control,  sustain  his  prop 
ositions,  and  ordered  the  books,  accounts  and  papers  of  his 
client  to  be  produced.  It  was  during  the  trial  of  one  of 
these  cases  that  Carpenter  attempted  to  "  pass  by "  Judge 
Drummond,  figuratively  speaking,  for  the  purpose  oi  enlight 
ening,  instructing  and  mellowing  the,  jury.  The  judge  at 
once  called  his  attention  to  the  fact  that  it  was  the  province 
of  no  one  but  the  court  to  instruct  the  jury.  As  this  pro 
ceeding  was  slightly  outside  of  the  prescribed  path,  some  of 
Carpenter's  friends  asked  him  why  he  undertook  what 
might  have  entailed  a  fine  for  contempt  of  court.  He  re 
plied:  "All  the  law  was  against  me,  public  opinion  was 
against  me,  the  press  was  against  me,  the  court  was  against 
me,  my  clients  were  as  guilty  as  Cain,  so  what  could  I  do? 
My  only  possible  chance  was  to  get  by  the  judge  and  at  the 
jury." 


THE    LOUISIANA   LOTTERY.  137 

THE  LOUISIANA  LOTTERY. 

On  November  13,  1879,  Postmaster-General  D.  M.  Key 
issued  an  order  to  the  postmaster  at  New  Orleans  forbidding 
the  payment  of  any  postal  money  order  addressed  to  M.  A. 
Dauphin,  for  the  reason  that  he  was  "  conducting  the  Louis 
iana  State  Lottery,  a  scheme  for  obtaining  money  under 
fraudulent  pretenses."  Carpenter  was  engaged  by  Dauphin 
to  discover  what  relief  the  law  would  afford  him.  The  case 
was  argued  at  length  before  the  supreme  court  of  the  Dis 
trict  of  Columbia  upon  the  novel  prayer  for  an  injunction 
to  restrain  the  order  from  remaining  in  force.  He  held 
that  the  statute  under  which  the  postmaster-general  acted 
was  unconstitutional,  because  it  vested  judicial  powers  in 
that  official ;  that  therefore  the  order  forbidding  Dauphin  the 
privileges  of  the  mails  was  void,  and  that  it  is  always 
the  duty  of  the  judicial  branch  of  government  to  restrain 
the  unlawful  or  unjust  acts  of  ministerial  officers. 

His  brief  was  very  interesting.  It  showed  how  a  court 
could  not  hesitate  because  the  relief  asked  was  against  a 
cabinet  officer,  as  courts  theretofore  had  commanded  Presi 
dent  Jefferson  to  appear  and  produce  a  certain  letter  at  the 
trial  of  Aaron  Burr,  and  Grant,  while  President,  had  been 
called  thousands  of  miles  to  testify  in  petty  cases,  and  both 
had  obeyed. 

The  order  withheld  from  Dauphin  all  registered  letters, 
whether  a  part  of  his  lottery  business  or  not.  This,  Car 
penter  declared,  was  partial  disfranchisement  —  punishment 
without  trial  by  a  person  not  vested  with  judicial  powers. 
In  concluding,  he  thus  pictured  the  duties  of  a  court,  no 
matter  how  high  and  mighty  the  person  to  fall  under  its 
judgment: 

If  we  convince  you  that  these  acts  of  congress  are  unconstitutional,  you 
can  not  shrink  from  so  declaring  without  violating  your  consciences  and 
disgracing  your  office.  There  may  well  be  a  nation  without  a  king;  per 
haps  a  church  without  a  bishop;  but  the  liberties  of  our  people  will  be 
gone  should  we  have  courts  without  judges.  Courts,  like  corporations, 


IJO  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

have  neither  "bodies  to  be  kicked,"  nor  "souls  to  be  damned."  Judges  have 
both,  and  are  amenable  to  the  just  criticisms  of  men,  and  for  corrupt  judg 
ment  answerable  at  the  bar  of  Divine  justice. 

Carpenter  secured  relief  for  his  client,  whether  justly  or 
not  is  not  in  question,  which  continued  until  the  middle  of 
1883,  when  Postmaster-General  Gresham  renewed  the  order. 

MRS.  STEPHEN  A.  DOUGLAS. 

The  boldness  of  Carpenter  in  pointing  out  to  courts  the 
wickedness  of  permitting  or  becoming  a  party  to  injustice 
through  rigid  adherence  to  mere  technicalities  of  laws  or 
contracts,  constituted  one  of  his  noblest  characteristics  as  a 
lawyer.  There  were  few  judges  that  had  the  hardihood  to 
follow  the  zigzag  path  of  technicalities  while  he  practiced 
before  them,  as  he  never  failed  in  such  instances  to  torture 
their  consciences. 

When  he  learned  that  the  widow  of  his  idolized  friend, 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  was  compelled  to  seek  relief  in  court 
against  the  strange  business  management  of  her  husband's 
adviser,  executor  and  supposed  friend,  he  hastened  to  offer 
his  professional  services  in  rescuing  her  from  injustice.  He 
appeared  for  her  on  appeal  before  the  supreme  court  of  Illi 
nois.  In  the  widow's  suit  for  an  accounting  of  her  husband's 
estate  and  for  one-half  of  the  unsold  lands,  the  court  below 
denied  her  prayer,  alleging  that  she  had  been  "guilty  of 
laches,  legal  remissness,  in  not  suing  at  an  earlier  day."  In 
common  parlance  it  may  be  stated  that  the  executor  of  the 
Douglas  estate  pleaded  that  Mrs.  Douglas  had  so  long  neg 
lected  to  sue  him  that  her  property  had  now  become  his 
own,  and  the  court  below  sustained  this  plea.  Carpenter's 
brief  was  long,  weighted  with  authorities,  and,  in  its  prayer 
for  relief,  extremely  eloquent.  In  connection  with  a  subject 
so  noteworthy,  a  few  lines  may  be  quoted: 

The  complainant  was  a  woman;  in  social  life  a  queen,  indeed,  but  still  a 
woman.  She  loved  her  husband  as  all  good  wives  do;  but  added  to  this 
was  her  knowledge  that  a  nation  followed  Senator  Douglas  to  admire  him. 


THE   NORTH-WESTERN   UNIVERSITY.  139 

Under  these  circumstances,  could  she  doubt  his  wisdom,  his  power <to  read 
the  characters  of  men,  his  capacity  tor  selecting  true  friends  for  their  ster 
ling  worth?  Rhodes  had  been  her  husband's  confidant  and  "familiar."  In 
those  dreadful  hours  which  preceded  his  final  dissolution,  when  the  dying 
rise  to  the  supremacy  of  prophets,  her  husband,  Senator  Douglas,  the  trib 
une  of  millions  of  the  people,  had  exhorted  her,  soon  to  become  a  lone 
woman,  to  trust  in  Rhodes;  to  take  his  advice,  yield  to  his  counsel,  and 
look  to  him  as  her  sure  and  best  friend. 

His  final  warning  to  the  court  was  thus: 

If  a  widow,  thus  cheated  and  defrauded  by  one  in  whom  her  confidence 
is  centered,  one  whom  she  regards  as  a  father,  one  in  whose  honor  her 
dying  husband  has  commanded  her  to  repose  confidence,  can  have  no  relief 
from  fraud  such  as  this  case  discloses,  the  benefit  of  a  court  of  chancery  is 
not  very  apparent. 


THE  NORTH-WESTERN  UNIVERSITY. 

One  of  Carpenter's  important  briefs,  in  which  his  reason 
ing  and  conclusions  became  those  of  the  court  in  its  decision, 
was  that  of  the  North-western  University  vs.  The  People  of 
Illinois.  In  1851  the  state  of  Illinois  incorporated  the  North 
western  University  at  Evanston.  In  1855  the  charter  of  in 
corporation  wras  amended  so  "That  all  -property,  of  whatever 
kind  or  description,  belonging  to  or  owned  by  said  corporation, 
shall  be  forever  free  from  taxation  for  any  and  all  purposes" 
This  amendment  was  accepted  by  the  association,  and  about 
$200,000,  by  reason  of  the  tax-exemption,  was  donated  to  the 
institution.  In  1870  the  state  made  a  new  constitution.  The 
constitution  of  1848  provided:  "The  property  of  the  state 
and  counties,  both  real  and  personal,  and  such  other  property 
as  the  general  assembly  may  deem  necessary  for  school,  relig 
ious  and  charitable  purposes,  may  be  exempt  from  taxation." 
The  new  constitution  limited  the  exemptions  to  real  and  per 
sonal  property  "  used  exclusively  "  for  such  purposes.  This 
cut  off  real  and  other  property  whose  proceeds,  instead  of 
the  property  itself,  were  used  for  school  purposes. 

The  state  authorities,  under  the  new  constitution,  levied  a 
tax  on  the  university  property  and  went  into  court  to  enforce 


140  1AFE,   OF   CARPENTER. 

it.  5The  court  held  the  levy  valid,  and  directed  the  sale  of 
the  university  in  satisfaction  of  it.  Carpenter  appealed  to 
the  United  States  supreme  court,  and  there  contended  that, 
inasmuch  as  the  legislature,  under  the  old  constitution,  had 
ample  power  to  exempt  the  property  of  the  university,  its 
action  was  valid;  and  as  large  donations  were  made  by  rea 
son  of  the  said  exemption,  that  proviso  became  a  part  of  the 
contract,  and  the  new  constitution  and  law  destroying  it, 
"  impaired  the  obligation "  of  the  contract,  contrary  to  the 
federal  constitution,  and  was  for  that  reason  void.  The  court 
so  held. 

GREAT  CASES. 

Thus  cases,  important  as  to  principles,  and  interesting,  if 
not  to  the  general  public,  certainly  to  lawyers  —  the  most 
learned  of  the  larger  classes  of  professional  men  —  might  be 
mentioned  into  the  thousands.  They  embrace  every  con 
ceivable  branch  of  litigation,  test  all  the  great  principles  of 
constitutions,  statutes  and  common  law,  and  involve  property 
interests  and  rights  of  incalculable  value.  To  make  simply 
an  index  to  them  would  require  a  volume,  for  Carpenter's 
practice  in  the  various  courts  of  Washington  and  the  Union, 
for  many  years,  was  of  enormous  proportions.  He  had  nu 
merous  cases  for  the  New  York  Life  Insurance  Company; 
was  the  attorney  for  the  heirs  of  Charles  Bent  to  secure  their 
one-fourth  interest  in  the  great  Maxwell  grant  from  the 
Spanish  government;  for  William  McGarrahan, in  his  noted 
claim  against  the  New  Idra  Mining  Company;  for  Pierre 
Frayolle,  in  his  suits  against  the  Texas  &  Pacific  Railway; 
for  J.  F.  Schuette,  against  the  Florida  Central  Railway  (in 
which  an  attempt  was  made  to  defeat  him  by  imposing  a 
rotten  bond  on  Justice  Bradley);  for  Hallett's  heirs  (with  J. 
B.  Stewart),  against  the  Kansas  Pacific  Railway,  for  about 
$25,000,000;  for  the  French  heirs  in  the  Jumel  will  case; 
for  the  Jackson,  Shreveport  &  Texas  Railway,  against 
Oakes  Ames;  for  various  army  and  navy  attaches,  where 


GREAT   CASES.  14! 

military  or  martial  laws  were  to  be  expounded  or  tested;  for 
the  great  Amory  estate  in  New  York;  and  he  also  had  suits 
against  the  cities  of  Milwaukee,  Leavenworth,  Kenosha,  St. 
Joseph  and  Beloit,  and  against  numerous  railway  corpora 
tions,  in  addition  to  almost  numberless  claims  before  the  de 
partments  at  Washington  and  the  committees  of  congress. 
No  man  ever  had  a  more  varied  and  distinguished  prac 
tice. 


142  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A  BATTLE  WITH   CORPORATIONS. 

For  some  years  the  stupendous  growth  of  corporations, 
under  the  peculiar  American  system  of  granting  charters,  has 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  wisest  political  economists,  leg 
islators  and  jurists.  It  was  a  subject  of  weight  that  did  not 
escape  Carpenter's  early  attention,  either  as  a  lawyer,  law 
maker,  or  statesman.  That  he  was  a  pioneer  in  that  limitless 
domain  of  difficulties  and  intricacies,  not  so  much  for  as 
against  corporations,  must  already  have  become  clear. 

His  views  as  to  the  foundation  principles  governing  the 
formation  and  control  of  railway  corporations  and  common 
carriers  were,  at  first,  and  for  some  years,  antagonistic  to  the 
decisions  of  the  courts.  They  were  in  favor  of  the  people, 
and  therefore  enlisted  the  powerful  hostility  of  the  corpora 
tions.  They  constitute  an  important  part  of  his  doings  and 
sayings  in  public,  and  will  be  regarded  with  greater  wonder 
and  admiration  as  time  reveals  and  confirms  their  wisdom. 
He  was  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  reviled  of  prophets,  op 
posed  by  courts,  corporations  and  attorneys,  but,  after  all,  the 
only  one  of  distinction  whose  prophecies  came  to  pass. 

Although  engaged  in  a  maze  of  railway  litigation  that 
puzzled  and  confounded  courts,  receivers,  railway  owners, 
bondsmen,  managers  and  opposition  attorneys,  Carpenter 
made  no  formal  avowal  of  his  tenets  in  regard  to  the  relations 
subsisting,  or  that  of  right  should  subsist,  betwixt  the  corpo 
rations  and  the  people,  until  the  year  of  his  election  to  the 
United  States  senate.  In  so  far  as  the  causes  litigant  brought 
them  out  in  his  professional  briefs  and  arguments,  his  views 
must  have  been  more  or  less  publicly  known,1  for  the  officers 

1  At  a  large  Fourth  of  July  celebration  at  Milwaukee,  in  1865,  Carpenter 
(with  Carl  Schurz  and  Alex.  W.  Randall)  was  the  orator  of  the  day.  In 
the  course  of  his  remarks,  he  said:  "  The  war  is  over,  and  the  question  of 


A   BATTLE    WITH    CORPORATIONS.  143 

of  the  Wisconsin  State  Agricultural  Association  invited  him  to 
address  the  people  at  their  annual  exhibit  in  September  of 
that  year,  at  Madison,  upon  "  The  Growth  of  Monopoly  in 
the  Carrying  Trade." 

The  invitation  was  accepted,  and  a  throng  of  people  was 
drawn  to  the  Capital  City  to  hear  him  upon  a  matter  which, 
under  the  fostering  care  of  certain  tribunals,  land-grants  and 
legislatures,  had  arrived  at  a  period  of  alarming  importance. 
There  had  been  an  extra  session  of  congress,  his  professional 
engagements  were  numerous  and  exacting,  but  he  hewed 
out  of  the  crowded  days  and  nights  time  enough  to  commit 
his  words  to  paper.  His  biographer  bears  testimony,  in 
sorrow,  that  Carpenter  rarely  had  his  public  addresses  in 
any  manner  perpetuated  on  paper;  and  Carpenter  himself,  on 
the  occasion  now  mentioned,  confirmed  this  affirmation  by 
opening  the  speech  with  the  remark  that,  "  Wishing  to  say 
exactly  what  he  meant,  he  had  committed  his  words  to  writ 
ing;  and  never  having  done  such  a  thing  before,  he  should 
not,  probably,  be  able  to  read  half  of  them,  which  would  be 
entirely  in  their  favor." 

The  supreme  court  of  Wisconsin  had  just  decided  that 
railways  were  private  property  (not,  therefore,  subject  to  the 
control  of  the  legislature)  and  that  any  tax  levied  in  aid  of 
them  was,  for  that  reason,  unconstitutional  and  void.  In  plain 
terms,  this  decision  meant  that  the  aggressions,  discrimina 
tions  and  extortions  of  the  railways  were  beyond  redress.  In 
Iowa  a  similar  decision  had  been  made,  and  while  the  rail 
way  corporations  were  becoming  insolent  and  aggressive,  the 
public  mind,  as  a  natural  consequence,  grew  not  only  restless 
and  anxious,  but  lost  some  faith  in  the  justness  of  courts. 

Under  such  a  condition  of  affairs  and  of  the  public  temper, 
Carpenter  pronounced  his  plan  of  salvation  for  the  produc 
ing  classes  —  the  masses.  After  setting  forth,  in  figures 

Negro  suffrage  will  soon  be  disposed  of;  then  the  next  great  struggle  will 
be  betwixt  the  people  and  the  corporations.  I  fear  it  will  be  upon  us  before 
we  shall  be  prepared  to  fight  it."  Than  this  the  records  show  no  earlier 
prediction. 


144  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

drawn  from  official  sources,  the  magnitude  of  the  internal 
commerce  of  the  country,  in  order  to  show  the  importance 
of  the  subject  deputed  to  him  for  elucidation,  he  proceeded: 

It  was  for  many  years  believed  by  our  wisest  and  purest  statesmen  that 
our  institutions  were  in  danger  from  slavery.  But  it  is  my  honest  belief, 
that  they  are  to-day  in  far  greater  danger  from  the  combinations  of  capital, 
the  consolidations  of  monopolies  —  the  great  trinity  of  power,  railroad, 
express  and  telegraph  companies,  which  are  struggling  to  control  the  des 
tinies  of  this  country  —  than  they  ever  were  from  slavery.  Slavery  was 
spread  over  a  vast  territory;  it  could  only  act  through  political  agencies;  so 
that  its  plottings  and  proceedings  were  seen  of  all  men.  It  was  a  sin  so 
damning  and  a  curse  so  heavy  that  the  moral  sentiments  of  the  people  and 
the  sympathies  of  the  world  were  against  it  —  against  it  altogether  and 
under  all  circumstances,  in  detail  and  in  general.  It  was  circumscribed  by 
geographic  limits,  and  the  numerical  majority  of  our  people,  who  watched 
it  with  jealousy  and  hatred,  always  had  the  potver,  if  not  the  technical  con 
stitutional  right,  to  suppress  it  at  any  time ;  and  it  was  always  certain  that 
whenever  it  should  openly  assail  the  existence  of  free  institutions,  the  peo 
ple,  who  believe  that  constitutions  are  made  for  men  and  not  that  men  are 
made  for  constitutions,  would  find  a  way  to  put  it  down.  And  so  it  finally 
was  extinguished. 

But  railroad,  express  and  telegraph  companies,  under  proper  regulations 
and  within  wholesome  restrictions,  are  not  only  harmless  but  absolutely  a 
necessity  of  our  modern  civilization.  They  may  proudly  and  truthfully 
point  to  the  immense  service  they  have  rendered  to  the  people  in  facilitat 
ing  commerce  and  bringing  the  comforts  of  life  to  every  man's  door. 
The  dangers  to  the  public  arise  not  from  the  use,  but  from  the  abuse 
of  the  powers  which  have  been  granted  to  these  corporations.  Un 
mixed  evil  is  always  condemned  and  avoided,  and  is  therefore  harmless. 
It  is  evil  that  comes  in  shining  raiment,  with  seductive  manner,  with  much 
that  is  really  pleasant  and  good,  that  wins  its  destructive  way  into  the  par 
adise  of  popular  approbation.  There  is  no  conflict  between  labor  and  the 
legitimate  profits  of  capital.  Each  is  necessary  to  the  other.  But  the 
great  passion  in  this  country  is  the  love  of  wealth.  And  as  life  is  short 
and  every  man  impatient  of  results,  the  great  tendency  is  the  consolida 
tion  of  agencies  to  accomplish  vast  results  speedily.  So  that,  whenever 
competition  begins,  consolidation  results.  A  short  time  since  the  Mer 
chants'  Express  Company  was  organized  with  an  immense  capital,  in  the 
interests  of  the  people,  as  it  was  said,  to  break  down  the  monopoly  of  the 
then  existing  company.  Competition  went  on  until  both  companies  came 
to  the  not  unnatural  conclusion,  that  it  would  be  more  profitable  to  unite 
and  plunder  the  people  for  their  joint  benefit,  than  it  was  to  carry  merchan 
dise  for  too  low  a  rate  to  amount  to  compensation.  So  they  consolidated, 


A   BATTLE   WITH   CORPORATIONS.  145 

and  now  have  everything  their  own  way.  Various  telegraph  companies  have 
passed  through  the  same  experience  and  reached  the  same  result.  Railroad 
companies,  not  behind  in  the  wisdom  of  this  generation,  are  now  bending 
all  their  energies  to  a  consolidation  which  shall  prevent  competition,  and 
deliver  the  people  bound  hand  and  foot  into  their  tender  keeping.  For  all 
practical  purposes  we  have  but  one  telegraph  company  in  the  United 
States,  and  but  one  express  company.  If  nothing  is  done  to  check  the 
present  tendencies,  it  will  not  be  long  until  we  have  but  one  railroad  com 
pany  in  the  United  States,  and  then  it  is  by  no  means  improbable  that 
three  monster  monopolies  may,  "  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect  union, 
insure  domestic  tranquillity"  provide  for  their  "common  defense"  and  pro 
mote  their  "general  welfare,"  "ordain  and  establish  a  constitution,"  which 
shall  combine  all  three  in  one,  and  it  will  be  owing  to  the  mercy  of 
Heaven  or  the  vigilance  of  our  people,  if  they  do  not  so  far  extend  their 
schemes  as  to  ordain  a  constitution  for  the  feofle  of  the  United  States. 

This  fearful  consolidation  tends  to  withdraw  corporate  action  from  public 
observation.  Slave-holders  could  not  plot  in  secret;  but  to  execute  their 
j-chemes  they  had  to  publish  their  platforms  and  "goto  the  country"  for  a 
trial.  The  people  were  thus  imbrmed  of  what  was  intended,  and  it  was 
their  own  fault  if  they  did  not  take  care  of  themselves.  But  the  railroads, 
express  and  telegraph  corporations  of  the  United  States,  embracing  untold 
millions  of  capital,  reaching  into  every  state,  territory,  county,  town,  vil 
lage  and  farm  of  the  country,  may  all  be  managed  by  a  board  of  fifteen  di 
rectors,  sitting  with  closed  doors,  by  candle-light,  in  Wall  street.  What 
they  determine  upon  they  need  not  submit  to  public  examination  nor  to  the 
contingency  of  a  general  election  by  the  people,  and  thus  a  power  more  for 
midable  than  the  powers  of  this  gigantic  national  government,  because  more 
closely  touching  the  rights  and  pockets  of  the  people,  will  come  to  be  ex 
ercised  by  a  few  men  whose  interests  in  all  things  are  directly  opposed  to 
the  interests  of  the  people,  without  the  consent  or  even  the  knowledge  of 
the  people.  The  power  of  such  an  organization  upon  our  popular  elections, 
with  their  paid  agents  in  every  school-district,  the  immense  number  of  their 
employes  and  officers,  men  of  influence  and  intelligence,  all  capable  of  be 
ing  directed  by  telegraphic  communication  by  a  central  head  in  Wall  street, 
ana  the  immense  capital  capable  of  being  poured  out  secretly  at  any  point, 
their  power  to  build  up  or  destroy  towns  and  cities  by  discriminating  tariffs, 
and  to  create  or  destroy  the  fortunes  of  individuals,  can  not  be  overesti 
mated. 

But  some  good  easy  soul,  who  never  smarts  until  he  is  hit,  may  think 
this  is  trembling  at  imaginary  evils,  or  rallying  to  combat  shadows.  I  hope 
so.  But  certainly  it  is  wiser  to  apprehend  a  little  too  much  danger  and 
guard  against  it  than  to  apprehend  too  little  and  be  destroyed  by  it;  and  any 
candid  man  who  looks  back  fifty  years  and  considers  from  what  feeble  be 
ginnings  these  tremendous  monopolies  have  attained  their  present  power 
10 


146  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

and  greatness,  may  see  reason  to  fear  that  they  will  still  farther  advance 
their  views  and  their  consummations. 

Railroad  companies  first  sought  franchises  from  the  state  upon  the  ground 
that  railways  were  public  highways,  and  as  such  under  the  control  of  the 
legislative  power  as  any  other  highway.  It  was  upon  this  ground,  and  this 
only,  that  the  courts  upheld  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  eminent  domain  in 
favor  of  railroad  companies,  which  enabled  them,  as  agents  of  the  state,  to 
take  any  man's  land  for  the  use  of  the  roads  in  face  of  a  constitution  which 
forbids  the  taking  of  private  property,  except  for  a  public  use.  The  theory 
upon  which  the  roads  were  originally  constructed  is  changing;  and  the 
supreme  court  of  Wisconsin  J  and  the  supreme  court  of  Iowa,  two  most 
intelligent  and  upright  courts,  recently  decided  that  a  railroad  company  is 
a  mere  private  corporation,  and  that  the  legislature  has  no  more  power  over 
its  property  or  affairs  than  it  has  over  those  of  a  bank,  a  manufacturing 
company,  or  over  a  grist-mill. 

In  a  single  sentence,  spoken  by  the  supreme  court,  the  state  of  Iowa  has 
abdicated  its  sovereignty  over  the  great  highways  of  the  state,  and  trans 
formed  them  from  trust  property,  held  by  the  corporations  for  public  use, 
into  absolute  estate  in  individual  and  private  right.  This  declaration  is  not 
less  important  and  startling  than  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  and  exhibits  the 
dangerous  tendencies  I  have  been  considering. 

It  is  evident  that  if  the  doctrine  be  conceded  that  our  railroads  are  mere 
private  property  and  legislatures  powerless  to  control  them,  the  grossest 
abuses  and  oppressions  will  follow.  Most  civilized  countries  regulate  the 
rate  of  interest  by  penal  laws,  visiting  severe  penalties  upon  the  capitalist 
who  takes  advantage  of  the  necessities  of  the  borrower.  But  there  is  in 
finitely  more  need  of  legislation  here.  Loaning  money  is  a  thing  within 
the  power  of  any  private  citizen  having  money ;  he  needs  and  obtains  no 
legislative  franchise,  or  monopoly  of  the  loaning  business.  Competition  is 
therefore  certain  to  exist;  and  this,  of  itseh,  is  thought  by  many  to  be  a  suf 
ficient  protection  against  the  extortion  of  lenders.  But  how  does  it  stand 
with  capital  invested  in  railroads?  In  the  first  place,  the  company  has  a 
monopoly.  The  state  has  clothed  it  with  corporate  power  and  immunities. 
The  farmer  must  export  his  produce  over  the  railroad,  because  there  is  but 
one.  Every  man  does  not  own  a  railroad;  every  man  could  not  operate"  it, 
exacting  tolls  from  the  public,  if  he  did  own  one.  That  requires  legislative 
sanction.  But  the  new  doctrine  now  contended  for,  that  a  railroad  is  pri 
vate  and  not  public  property,  strikes  a  death-blow  at  all  legislative  control, 
and  leaves  the  people  at  the  mercy  of  our  corporations,  so  far  as  the  state 
government  is  concerned.  The  state  can  control  the  management  of  public 
property,  but  has  no  right  to  control  the  use  of  mere  private  properly. 

1  In  Whiting  vs.  Fond  du  Lac  County,  the  case  referred  to,  the  decision 
of  the  state  court  was  reversed  by  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States 
shortly  after  the  delivery  of  this  speech. 


A   BATTLE    WITH   CORPORATIONS.  147 

If  the  state  of  things  now  existing  is  an  evil,  and  the  tendency  is  to  an 
aggravation  of  that  evil,  it  is  interesting  to  consider  whether  any,  and  what, 
remedy  can  be  invoked. 

It  is  evident  that  a  corporation  which  owns  a  railroad  through  a  halt- 
dozen  .  states  can  not  be  controlled  by  any  one  state,  and  if  every  state 
should  enter  upon  the  task,  it  is  certain  that  each  would  have  a  theory  of 
its  own,  and  nothing  but  confusion  would  result  A  regulation  to  be  of 
any  avail  must  be  uniform;  there  can  be  no  uniformity  where  thirty  sover 
eignties  are  uttering  their  voices  and  enforcing  their  wills  upon  the  same 
subject.  This  consideration  led  to  the  adoption,  in  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States,  of  the  provision  that  congress  should  have  power  "  to  regu 
late  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among  the  several  states,  and  with 
the  Indian  tribes." 

Congress  may  at  any  time  regulate  the  running  of  trains,  fix  the  tariff  of 
rates,  and  in  every  respect  regulate  and  control  the  proceedings  oi  any 
railroad  company  in  regard  to  such  commerce.  A  company  whose  road 
is  situated  wholly  within  the  limits  of  a  particular  state,  as  to  all  produce 
which  is  destined  for  a  distant  state,  is  also  engaged  in  commerce  among 
the  states.  And  even  those  cases,  where  the  charter  of  the  company 
amounts  to  a  contract  which  would  prevent  the  interference  of  a  state,  are 
nevertheless  within  the  power  of  congress ;  because  no  state  can  exonerate 
any  person  or  corporation  from  the  duty  of  obedience  to  all  constitutional 
regulations  of  commerce  by  the  general  government.  Therefore,  the  rail 
roads  of  Iowa  and  Wisconsin,  although  wholly  exempt,  by  recent  decisions, 
from  state  control,  may  nevertheless  be  kept  within  just  limits  by  the  exer 
cise  of  congressional  authority. 

The  power  to  regulate  commerce  includes  the  power  to  facilitate  com 
merce;  if  not,  then  every  light-house  on  the  Atlantic  coast  is  shedding  an 
unconstitutional  light  upon  the  midnight  mariner.  It  is  impossible,  I 
think,  to  distinguish  between  the  power  of  congress,  under  the  constitu 
tion,  to  build  a  light-house,  and  its  power  to  build  a  canal  or  a  railroad. 
The  practical  construction  which  the  constitution  has  received  is  that  con. 
gress  may  legislate  in  aid  of  commerce.  It  may  build  harbors,  improve 
lakes  or  rivers,  and  do  whatever  else  may  render  commerce  easy,  safe  and 
profitable. 

Suppose  the  government  should  build  a  railroad  with  two  or  four  tracks 
from  Chicago  to  New  York,  and  throw  it  open  to  public  use,  under  certain 
regulations,  and  at  certain  rates  of  toll  to  be  paid  by  any  person  running  a 
train  upon  the  road.  It  would  thus  be  in  the  power  of  the  government  to 
regulate  the  carrying  business,  which  is  so  important  an  element  in  domes 
tic  commerce,  so  as  fully  to  protect  the  people.  The  power  to  do  this  is 
unquestionable.  If  any  man  doubts  the  power  as  a  regulation  of  com 
merce,  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  power  of  congress  to  build  a  military  road, 


148  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

with  four  iron  tracks,  from  Chicago  to  New  York ;  and  when  not  actually 
required  for  the  transshipment  of  troops  or  military  supplies,  to  authorize  its 
use  at  certain  rates  of  toll  by  private  individuals.  Our  navy  is  employed 
not  only  in  protecting  our  foreign  commerce,  but  in  succoring  merchant 
vessels  in  distress;  and  no  doubt  might  be  employed,  when  not  needed  for 
national  defense,  in  any  way  to  promote  national  prosperity.  But,  conced 
ing  the  power,  it  will  be  said  there  are  many  objections  to  be  urged  against 
it.  Undoubtedly;  but  the  question  is,  whether  there  are  more  blessings  to 
be  expected  than  dangers  to  be  apprehended. 

(1)  It  may  be  said  that  it  would  increase  the  patronage  of  the  general 
government,  which  is  already  very  great.     Admit  it;  would  not  the  same 
reasoning  abolish  the  postoffice  department?     Oh,  says  the  objector,  the 
postoffice  is  a  necessity.     Precisely ;  and  the  question  is,  whether  the  rail 
road,  also,  will  not  soon  become  a  necessity. 

(2)  It  may  be  said  that  the  expense  of  such  a  work  would  be  much 
greater  if  executed  by  the  government  than  by  private  individuals.     This  I 
do  not  admit;  nor  do  I  believe  it. 

(3)  It  will  also  be  said  that  the  government  is  already  burthened  with  a 
heavy  debt;  that  it  would  be  madness  to  enter  into  so  gigantic  a  scheme  of 
internal  improvement,  in  our  present  condition. 

This  depends  upon  a  mere  question  of  profit  and  loss  in  regard  to  the 
particular  transaction.  If  a  farmer,  who  was  heavily  in  debt,  should,  for 
that  reason,  fold  his  hands  in  the  spring,  and  refuse  to  buy  seed- wheat  on 
credit,  and  so  let  his  farm  go  to  waste,  his  wisdom  would  not  be  approved. 
If  he  buys  wheat  and  corn  to  sow  and  plant,  if  he  employs  laborers,  and 
buys  oxen  and  horses  to  carry  on  his  farm,  he  will  temporarily  increase  his 
indebtedness;  but  in  no  other  way  can  he  realize  the  rich  crops  of  autumn, 
which  may  not  only  repay  the  expense  of  the  year,  but  go  far  towards 
liquidating  his  indebtedness. 

So,  if  the  government  could  build  a  railroad  from  Chicago  to  New  York 
in  three  years,  upon  which  it  should  levy  such  tolls  as  would  have  the 
effect  to  reduce  the  cost  of  transporting  merchandise  one-half,  and  still  pay 
for  its  own  construction  in  twenty  years,  after  which  the  tolls  could  be  still 
farther  reduced,  down  to  the  actual  cost  of  keeping  the  road  in  repair,  then 
it  would  not  be  an  extravagance  but  an  act  of  prudence  to  do  it;  because 
the  government  would  by  this  proceeding  lose  nothing,  and  the  people 
would  be  greatly  enriched. 

Congress  has  heretofore  granted  aid  to  railroad  companies  in  the  form 
of  grants  of  land  and  bonds.  The  government  gets  nothing  back  for  the 
lands  granted,  and  the  people  get  no  benefit,  if  the  companies  are  to  band 
together  to  plunder  the  commerce  of  the  country.  As  a  mere  investment, 
it  would  be  better  for  the  government  to  build  and  hold  a  railroad  until  it 
should  be  re-imbursed  for  its  construction,  and  in  the  same  time  save  the 


ENEMIES   APPEAR.  149 

people  as  much  more,  than  to  grant  to  irresponsible  parties  land  or  money, 
from  which  no  adequate  return  will  be  realized  either  by  the  government 
or  the  people.  ( 

I  have  made  these  remarks,  simply,  if  I  could,  to  direct  the  public  mind 
to  a  consideration  of  a  matter  worthy  of  their  thought,  which  will,  I  believe, 
before  many  years  grow  to  great  practical  importance. 

Many  then  thought  Carpenter's  picture  of  coming  con 
solidation  and  consequent  destruction  of  competition  in 
the  telegraph,  express  and  railway  business  was  overdrawn 
and  groundless;  but  recent  events  have  amply  proved  that 
his  vision  of  the  future  was  correct.  Although  several  tele 
graph  companies  have  been  organized  since  then,  ostensibly 
to  build  lines  "  for  the  people,"  all  of  them  have  been  swal 
lowed  up  by  the  great  telegraph  octopus.  He  predicted  that 
if  the  manifest  tendencies  of  1869  to  consolidate  were  not 
checked,  it  would  not  be  many  years  before  there  would  be 
but  one  railroad  in  the  United  States.  The  present  "  pool 
ing  "  arrangements,  by  which  competition  is  throttled  and 
the  vast  earnings  of  the  railways  are  arbitrarily  divided 
among  the  corporations  belonging  in  the  pool,  is  a  practical  if 
not  a  literal  fulfillment  of  that  prophecy. 

ENEMIES  APPEAR. 

The  address  had  hardly  been  spread  before  the  public 
when  John  R.  Bennett  and  I.  C.  Sloan,  two  very  able  law 
yers,  attacked  its  doctrines  through  the  columns  of  the  news 
papers.  On  the  nth  of  October  Carpenter  replied,  boldly 
taking  ground  contrary  to  the  decisions  of  the  supreme  court 
not  only  of  his  own  but  of  other  states.  He  argued: 

Now,  a  railroad  is  either  a  highway  held  by  a  corporation  in  trust  for  the 
public  use,  or  it  is  mere  private  property  owned  by  the  stockholders  in  ab 
solute  right.  One  of  these  theories  must  be  true;  and  whichever  is  held 
to  be  true,  it  will  follow  that  the  other  is  untrue. 

(i)  If  it  be  a  highway,  then  the  legislature  can  authorize  a  county  or 
town,  in  its  discretion,  to  aid  in  its  construction,  and  raise  money  by  taxa 
tion  for  that  purpose;  because  the  money  raised  for  that  is  raised  for  a  pub 
lic  purpose.  And  it  also  follows  that  as  a  highway  it  may  be  controlled 
and  regulated  by  the  legislature. 


I5O  L1F&  OF   CARPENTER. 

(2)  If  it  be  not  a  public  highway,  then  the  public  have  no  control  over 
it.  When  it  is  held  to  be  private  property,  it  follows  that  the  legislature 
have  no  more  right  to  control  it  than  they  have  to  control  the  use  of  any 
other  private  property. 

If  it  be  public  property — a  highway  —  one  class  of  consequences  fol. 
lows;  if  it  be  not  a  common  highway,  these  consequences  do  not  follow. 
Therefore,  when  the  court  solemnly  decides  to  which  category  a  railroad 
belongs,  they  do  in  effect  determine  what  class  of  consequences  is  to  follow 
in  regard  to  such  property.  So  the  court  evidently  considered  it.  The 
particular  question  was:  Can  the  legislature  authorize  a  county  to  aid  in  the 
construction  of  a  railroad  by  taxation?  But  to  answer  this  question  it  was 
necessary  for  the  court  to  determine  the  question  upon  which  it  depended, 
viz.:  Is  a  railroad  a  public  highway,  or  is  it  mere  private  property?  This 
the  court  determined  against  the  theory  that  a  railroad  is  a  public  highway 
in  the  following  unambiguous  language: 

"The  road,  with  all  its  rolling-stock,  buildings,  fixtures  and  other  prop 
erty  pertaining  to  it,  is  private  property,  owned,  operated  and  used  by  the 
company  for  the  exclusive  benefit  and  advantage  of  its  stockholders."  J 

Having  settled  this,  then  of  course  the  court  could  answer  the  other 
question  in  only  one  way,  viz. :  that  taxation  in  aid  of  such  road  was  tax- 
ation  for  a  private,  not  for  a  public  purpose,  and  was  therefore  unconstitu 
tional. 

Now,  suppose  that  next  winter  our  legislature  should  pass  a  law  fixing 
a  tariff  of  rates  for  a  railroad.  The  company  would  contest  the  constitu 
tionality  of  the  law.  A  case  involving  this  question  would  come  to  the 
supreme  court.  Here  the  precise  question  would  be,  Can  the  legislature  pass 
a  laiv  regulating  tariff  of  rates  on  a  railroad?  But,  as  in  the  other  case, 
this  question  would  depend  upon  the  question:  Is  a  railroad  a  public  high 
way,  or  is  it  mere  private  property?  And  the  court  would  be  compelled 
to  sav,  "  We  settled  this  question  in  Whiting  vs.  Fond  du  Lac  County.  A 
railroad  is  mere  private  property."  Therefore  the  court  would  be  com- 

1  In  the  case  of  Whiting  vs.  Fond  du  Lac  County,  in  which  the  plaintiff 
enjoined  the  county  from  paying  county  orders  voted  by  the  people  in  aid 
of  the  construction  of  the  Sheboygan  &  Fond  du  Lac  Railway,  and  in 
which  this  opinion  of  the  supreme  court  of  Wisconsin  was  entered,  Car 
penter  was  the  attorney  for  the  defendant  county.  On  the  motion  for  a 
re-hearing  of  the  case  he  said: 

" The  sole  question  at  present  involved  is  this:  Has  the  legislature  the 
constitutional  po^vcr  to  authorize  a  county  or  town  to  raise  money  by  taxa 
tion  to  contribute  toward  the  building  of  a  railroad  in  or  through  the  local 
ity?  This  court  says  no. 

"  Had  this  question  been  answered  in  the  negative  fifty  years  ago,  not  a 
railroad  would  ever  have  been  completed  in  the  United  States."  The  court 
continued  to  say  "  no,"  but  its  judgment  was  reversed  by  Carpenter  in  the 
case  of  Olcott  vs.  Fond  du  Lac,  in  the  United  States  supreme  court. 


A   TEST   CASE.  151 

pelled  to  answer  the  precise  question,  can  the  legislature  regulate  a  tariff  of 
rates,  in  the  negative.  To  suppose  that  our  supreme  court  will  decide  that 
railroads  are  mere  private  property  in  order  to  exclude  the  power  of  taxa 
tion,  and  in  the  next  case  declare  them  to  be  public  highways  in  order  to 
uphold  the  constitutionality  of  a  tariff  of  rates,  is  to  suppose  that  the  court 
will  treat  adjudicated  cases  and  the  rules  of  logic  "  with  an  impartial  con 
tempt."  But  in  the  opinion  in  the  Whiting  case,  our  court  gave  their 
unqualified  approval  to  a  case  in  Iowa,  where  the  court  followed  this  doc 
trine  to  its  logical  result,  in  the  following  language: 

"  It  is  to  be  remembered,  also,  that  railway  corporations  are  not  organized 
for  the  purpose  of  developing  the  material  prosperity  of  the  state  —  this  is 
a  mere  incident  of  the  business  they  prosecute.  But  they  are  organized 
solely  to  make  money  for  their  stockholders,  and  the  legislature  has  no 
more  -power  over  their  property  and  rights  than  it  has  over  the  like  property 
and  rights  o)  natural  persons  or  other  private  corporations" 

Therefore  this  language  of  the  supreme  court  of  Iowa  was  adopted  and 
indorsed  by  our  court.  It  is  a  necessary  result  of  the  principle  that  rail 
roads  are  private  property  and  not  public  highways. 

There  are  certain  things  so  intimately,  so  necessarily  connected,  that  one 
can  not  exist  without  the  other.  If  you  want  sunshine  you  must  have  a 
clear  day;  if  you  will  not  have  a  clear  day  you  can  not  have  sunshine.  I. 
you  will  uphold  the  right  of  the  legislature  to  fix  a  tariff  ol  rates,  you  must 
hold  railroads  to  be  public  highways;  and  if  they  are  such,  the  power  o- 
taxation  may  be  exercised.  Everything  in  this  world  has  its  advantages 
and  disadvantages.  But  if  you  will  have  the  thing,  you  must  endure  all  its 
consequences. 

The  power  of  taxation,  exercised  by  the  representatives  of  the  people, 
and  confirmed,  as  in  this  case,  by  a  vote  of  the  people  to  be  taxed^  can  not  be 
abused,  unless  we  admit  that  the  people  can  neither  trust  their  representa 
tives  nor  judge  themselves  of  their  own  interests.  Such  an  admission 
would  overturn  all  free  government.  We  may  therefore  safely  say  rail 
roads  are  public  highways,  taxation  may  be  exercised  to  aid  them  if  the 
people  arc  "willing  to  tax  themselves  for  such  purpose;  and  the  legislature 
shall  at  all  times  have  the  power  to  control  the  operations  of  the  roads 
and  fix  the  tariff  of  rates. 

A  TEST  CASE. 

In  settling  the  principles  and  composing  the  public  mind 
with  reference  to  legislative  power  over  railways,  the  case 
of  Olcott  vs.  The  Supervisors  of  Fond  du  Lac  County  was 
all-important.  The  county  had  voted  to  aid  in  the  construc 
tion  of  the  Sheboygan  &  Fond  du  Lac  Railway,  and  in 
pursuance  thereof  issued  county  orders  as  the  work  of  con- 


152  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

struction  progressed.  One  Whiting  procured  an  injunction 
against  the  county,  forbidding  the  payment  of  the  orders. 
The  supreme  court  of  the  state,  upon  appeal,  decided  that 
the  act  authorizing  the  taxation  was  unconstitutional,  and 
the  taxation  itself  void. 

Subsequently  Horatio  J.  Olcott,  by  Carpenter  as  his  at 
torney,  brought  suit  in  the  United  States  district  court  of 
Wisconsin  to  recover  on  county  orders  of  which  he  was 
an  innocent  and  boiiafide  holder.  The  district  court,  follow 
ing  the  decision  of  the  state  court  in  the  Whiting  case,  gave 
an  adverse  decision.  Carpenter,  upon  a  writ  of  error,  went 
with  the  cause  to  the  United  State  supreme  court.  He  there 
contended  that  the  decision  of  the  state  court  (that  railroads 
were  mere  private  property,  and  that,  therefore,  a  tax  in  aid 
of  their  construction  was  unconstitutional  and  void)  was  an 
erroneous  judgment.  His  brief,  which  consisted  of  nearly 
seventy  pages  of  printed  matter,  was  not  an  ordinary  document 
in  either  ability  or  exhaustive  research.  He  pointed  out  with 
some  emphasis  what  injustice  suitors  in  the  federal  courts 
would  suffer  if  those  courts  were  to  do  as  had  been  done  in 
this  case,  viz.:  follow  the  decision  of  the  state  court.  The 
Illinois  court  had  just  decided  a  case  precisely  like  that  of 
Whiting's  in  favor  of  the  validity  of  a  tax  in  aid  of  railways; 
so  that,  if  Olcott  had  owned  county  orders  in  Illinois  of  pre 
cisely  the  same  nature  as  those  sued  upon,  he  would  have 
had  his  suit  decided  against  him  by  the  federal  court  in  Wis 
consin,  and  for  him  by  the  same  court  in  Illinois. 

The  court,  at  its  December  term,  1872,  decided  fully  in 
Carpenter's  favor,  using,  in  describing  railroads  as  public 
highways,  almost  the  exact  words  of  his  argument.  The 
judgment  of  the  court  below  was  reversed,  and  thus  \\  as 
settled,  as  he  had  previously  held  in  the  letter  and  speech 
before  quoted,  by  the  court  from  which  there  is  no  appeal, 
the  principle  that  railways  are  public  highways;  that  the 
right  of  eminent  domain  may  be  exercised  to  secure  right-of- 
way  for  them;  that  taxes  may  be  lawfully  levied  upon  a 


INTER-STATE   COMMERCE.  153 

willing  public  in  aid  of  their  construction,  and  that,  conse 
quently,  they  may  be  controlled  by  the  legislative  power 
that  created  them.  The  language  of  the  court  is  this: 

That  the  legislature  of  Wisconsin  may  alter  or  repeal  the  charter  granted 
to  the  Sheboygan  &  Fond  du  Lac  Railroad  Company  is  certain.  This  is 
a  power  reserved  by  the  constitution.  77ie  railroad  can,  therefore,  b"  con 
trolled  and  regulated  by  the  state.  Its  use  can  be  defined;  its  tolls  and  rates 
for  transportation  may  be  limited.  Is  a  work,  made  by  the  authority  of  the 
state,  subject  to  its  regulation,  and  having  for  its  object  an  increase  of  pub 
lic  convenience,  to  be  regarded  as  ordinary  private  property? 

INTER-STATE  COMMERCE 

By  invitation,  on  September  18,  1873,  Carpenter  delivered 
the  annual  address  before  the  agricultural  society  of  Winne- 
bago  county,  Illinois,  at  Rockford,  upon  regulating  and  con 
trolling  inter-state  and  other  commerce.  He  said  that  in  no 
other  country  had  corporations  ever  been  created  for  such  a 
variety  of  purposes  or  clothed  with  such  extraordinary  pow 
ers  as  in  the  United  States.  He  thought  for  each  state  to 
attempt  to  regulate  commerce  between  the  states  after  its 
own  fashion  would  result  in  discord.  He  pointed  out: 

The  vast  importance  of  our  internal  commerce,  the  extortion,  by  those 
engaged  in  the  carrying  business,  and  the  general  awakening  of  public  at 
tention  to  the  subject,  will  very  soon  compel  congress  to  enter  upon  this 
wide  but  as  yet  unoccupied  field  of  federal  power,  to  rescue  commerce 
among  the  states  from  the  excessive  exactions  of  the  railroad  companies. 
*  *  *  *  Another  source  of  corruption  in  railroad  management  and 
oppression  to  the  people  is  that  those  who  are  engaged  in  the  carrying  busi 
ness  are  also  engaged  in  the  traffic  of  commerce.  The  officers  of  a  great 
railroad  line  may  buy  a  large  amount  of  wheat  and  flour  in  the  far  west, 
and  then  suddenly  reduce  the  price  of  transportation  at  the  expense  of  their 
own  stockholders,  and  transport  their  own  produce  at  a  greatly  reduced 
rate,  thus  pocketing  a  vast  sum  of  money.  When  their  wheat  is  removed, 
the  freights  are  raised  again  and  applied  to  the  outside  public.  It  is  as 
competent  to  demand  that  any  person,  being  a  stockholder  or  director  of  a 
corporation  engaged  in  the  carrying  business,  shall  not  at  the  same  time  be 
engaged  in  buying  produce  to  be  transported  by  himself  or  by  his  company, 
as  it  is  to  provide  that  no  member  of  congress  shall  practice  in  the  court  of 
claims,  or  that  no  officer  engaged  in  collection  of  customs  shall  carry  on 
foreign  commerce. 


154  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

Proceeding  to  show  by  authorities  what  power  congress 
had  to  correct  the  excesses  complained  of,  he  declared  that 
"  if  the  federal  government  can  not  or  will  not  deal  with  this 
evil,  then  it  must  be  confessed  the  constitution  has  failed  to 
accomplish  one  of  the  principal  ends  it  was  intended  to  se 
cure."  lie  claimed  to  have  established  by  his  reasoning  and 
his  authorities  these  propositions: 

(i)  Railroads  are  highways,  and  therefore  may  be  built  with  money  raised 
by  taxation;  and,  without  regard  to  how  money  has  been  obtained  to  build 
them,  their  management  may  be  controlled  and  their  tariff  rates  fixed  by 
legislative  authority.  (2)  Congress,  under  its  power  to  regulate  commerce 
among  the  several  states,  may  regulate  the  tariff  of  rates  upon  all  railroads 
as  to  inter-state  commerce  —  that  is,  when  the  place  of  destination  and  point 
of  shipment  are  not  both  in  the  same  state.1  (3)  Congress  also  has  the 
power,  as  a  regulation  of  inter-state  commerce,  to  build  or  authorize  the 
building  of  such  number  of  trunk  roads  between  the  west  and  the  east  as 
may  be  necessary  to  reduce,  by  competition,  the  price  of  transportation  to  a 
reasonable  amount. 

The  address  was  a  very  elaborate  effort,  of  thirty  octavo 
pages,  and  fortified  by  extracts  from  or  references  to  about 
fifty  of  the  highest  opinions  in  the  land. 

THE   POTTER    LAW. 

The  possible  aggressions  of  the  railway  companies,  pre 
dicted  in  the  speech  of  1869,  continued  to  grow  in  Wisconsin 
in  size  and  number  until  the  people  became  thoroughly  exas 
perated.  Political  lines  were  broken,  leaders  confused,  and 
parties  demoralized.  The  members  of  an  agrarian  order 
calling  themselves  Grangers  raised  the  cry  against  the  rail 
ways,  mingled  in  political  conventions,  and,  joining  with  the 
democrats,  nominated  Win.  R.  Taylor  for  governor.  He 
was  a  Granger,  and,  nerved  by  the  shibboleth  of  "Down 
with  the  railways,"  his  entire  ticket  was  elected  over  C.  C. 
Washburn,  by  fifteen  thousand  votes,  the  first  majority 

1  In  January,  1883,  the  supreme  court  of  Illinois  went  even  further  than 
Carpenter,  and  held  that  the  legislature  of  any  state  could  fix  the  freight 
tariff  to  be  charged  for  transporting  articles  shipped  from  stations  within, 
but  destined  for  points  outside  of  that  state  —  even  European  ports. 


THE   POTTER   LAW.  155 

secured  by  the  democrats  since  1853.  The  election  appeared 
to  be  an  uprising  of  the  people  against  the  railways. 

The  legislature  met  in  January,  1874,  and  set  about  the 
formation  of  a  law  that  would  appease  popular  clamor.  The 
result  was  an  enactment  called  the  Potter  law.1  The  numer 
ous  corporations  employed  the  most  powerful  lobbies  ever 
marshaled  in  Madison,  for  the  purpose  of  defeating  the 
measure,  but  without  avail.  Public  sentiment,  without  re 
spect  to  party,  sanctioned  its  provisions,  and  it  was  duly 
ingrafted  upon  the  statute  books,  providing  reduced  and  fixed 
tariffs  for  the  transportation  of  passengers  and  freight,  pun 
ishing  discriminations  of  every  sort,  whether  by  rebates, 
gifts,  return  transportation,  or  otherwise  —  in  short,  bringing 
the  entire  carrying  business  strictly  within  legislative  control. 

Against  this  law,  the  railways  proposed  absolute  resist 
ance.  Relying  upon  the  decisions  of  previous  state  courts, 
they  declared  the  act  unconstitutional,  and  Alexander 
Mitchell,  of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway 
Company,  and  Albert  Keep,  of  the  Chicago  &  North- West 
ern  Railway  Company,  issued  proclamations  of  defiance.2 

1  Named  after  its  author,  R.  L.  D.  Potter. 

2  The  following. extract  from  a  proclamation  by  Governor  Taylor,  pro 
mulgated  in  May,  1874,  shows  that,  in   his   prediction   of  1869,  Carpenter 
penetrated    the  future  of  railway   aggressions  with    the    prescience  of   a 
prophet: 

WHEREAS,  The  legislature,  at  its  last  session,  passed  an  act  entitled  "An 
act  relating  to  railroad,  express  and  telegraph  companies  in  the  state  of 
Wisconsin,"  classifying  railroads  and  freights,  limiting  and  fixing  the  com 
pensation  to  be  charged  for  the  transportation  of  freights  and  passengers,  and 
providing  for  the  appointment  of  railroad  commissioners;  and, 

WHEREAS,  Said  act  was  duly  approved  on  the  fourth  day  of  March,  A.  D. 
1874,  and  was  officially  published  on  the  twenty-eighth  day  of  April,  A.  D. 
1874,  and  is  now,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  the  law  of  the  land;  and, 

WHEREAS,  The  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway  Company  and 
the  Chicago  &  North- Western  Railway  Company,  on  the  twenty -ninth  day 
of  April,  A.  D.  1874,  filed  m  theexecutivedeparltnentcommunications  signed 
bv  their  respective  presidents,  and  addressed  to  the  governor  of  the  state 
of  Wisconsin,  in  which  they  announce  a  determination  to  operate  their 
roads  without  reference  to  the  provisions  of  said  act  and  in  defiance  of  its 
requirements. 


156  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

Excitement  rose  higher  than  ever.  Powerful  arguments  by 
the  greatest  lawyers  in  the  Union,  hired  by  the  railways  to 
write  on  their  side,  were  published  in  the  leading  journals,  for 
the  purpose  of  perverting  public  opinion.  Among  the  distin 
guished  contributors  of  false  theory  and  unsound  conclusions 
to  the  confusion  and  uncertainty  of  the  hour,  were  Wm.  M. 
Evarts  and  Charles  O'Conor,  of  New  York,  and  E.  Rock- 
wood  Hoar  and  Benjamin  R.  Curtis,  of  Massachusetts. 
These  were  strong  names.  Public  opinion,  too,  was  strong, 
but  not  strong  enough  to  fee  lawyers  of  equal  ability  to 
write  in  the  interest  of  the  people/ on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
question. 

Thus,  with  nothing  tangible  on  which  to  rely,  the  masses 
halted  in  the  midst  of  their  doubts  and  misgivings,  while  the 
railways  continued  their  defiance  and  violation  of  law.  Dur 
ing  this  period  of  suspense,  Elisha  W.  Keyes,  chairman  of 
the  Wisconsin  republican  state  central  committee,  proceeded 
to  Washington,  and  informed  Carpenter  that  the  tax-payers 
must  have  light  upon  the  question  that  was  distracting  the 
public  mind,  from  an  unbiased  source;  must  have  an  un- 
bought  opinion  upon  the  constitutionality  of  the  Potter  law. 
They  desired,  he  explained,  to  abandon  it  if  in  error;  other 
wise,  to  feel  free  and  safe  to  enforce  it  against  the  defiant 
railroads,  at  whatever  hazard. 

At  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  May  10,  1874,  Carpenter 
agreed  to  comply  with  the  request.  "  I  will,"  he  promised, 
"  see  who  can  be  master  of  this  country  —  the  people  or  the 
corporations."  He  then  fell  to  the  task,  and  continued  his 
investigations  during  the  entire  night.  When  the  gray  light 
of  morning  began  to  dim  the  flickering  flames  in  his  office, 
the  opinion  had  been  completed,  and  sustained,  without  reser 
vation  or  equivocation,  the  constitutionality  and  the  validity 
of  every  provision  of  the  Potter  law.  It  was  composed  at 
four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  started  with  Keyes  for  Wisconsin 
the  same  day,  and  was  published  four  days  later  in  the  Wis 
consin  State  yournaL 


AN   EBULLITION   OF   SLIME.  157 

AN  EBULLITION  OF  SLIME. 

It  is  scarcely  possible  to  describe  the  malignity  of  the 
attacks  that  followed  the  publication  of  that  opinion.  The  rail 
way  corporations  paid  liberal  sums  to  various  newspapers  — 
especially  one  in  Chicago  —  for  Carpenter's  vilification,  and 
caused  the  calumnies  to  be  republished  in  lesser  sheets 
throughout  Wisconsin,  and  scattered  in  pamphlet  form  over 
the  commonwealth  in  great  numbers.  Those  articles  were 
put  forth  in  conspicuous  black  type  under  such  titles  as 
"  Matt.  Carpenter,  the  American  Carl  Marx,"  "  Carpenter's 
Infamous  Proposition  of  Downright  Robbery,"  "  Plea  of  the 
Communistic  Demagogue  Carpenter  for  Free  Confisca 
tion,"  and  "  Matt.,  the  Champion  of  Robbery."  The  black- 
guardism  of  the  body  of  the  articles  was  in  exact  consonance 
with  the  slander  of  these  titles.  Such  sentences  as  "  Matt. 
Carpenter,  the  focus  of  American  knavery,  holds  that  the 
state  has  a  right  to  steal  locomotives,  that  no  man  has  a  right 
to  two  coats  or  to  any  other  property,"  were  common. 

The  bombardment  of  slime  and  libel  was  not  allowed  to 
diminish  until  the  federal  and  other  courts  had  decided  that 
Carpenter's  doctrine  was  just  and  his  conclusions  of  law  cor 
rect,  and  that  the  Potter  law  was  constitutional  and  valid,  as 
he  had  pronounced  it.  But  the  attacks  on  him  took  more 
tangible  form  than  that  of  mere  billingsgate  and  abuse.  His 
oilice  in  Milwaukee  was  fired,  on  one  occasion  a  large 
amount  of  ignited  combustibles  piled  against  the  door  being 
discovered  and  extinguished  by  Dr.  Forster.  Having  been 
warned  that  his  life  was  in  danger,  Carpenter  went  armed 
during  the  balance  of  the  excitement,  and  his  family  lived 
for  some  weeks  in  a  state  of  intense  fear  that  he  would  meet 
with  bodily  harm.  Mrs.  Carpenter  watched  anxiously  for 
his  coming  every  evening,  and,  if  he  did  not  appear  promptly 
on  time,  the  coachman  was  dispatched  post-haste  to  dis 
cover  whether  the  wicked  threats  had  been  carried  into  exe 
cution. 


158  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

He  probably  was  at  no  time  in  actual  danger  of  physical 
harm ;  but  the  methods  resorted  to  for  his  intimidation  were 
certainly  extraordinary  and  criminal  —  such  as  would  be 
likely  to  seriously  frighten  the  tenderer  members  of  any 
household.  It  was  a  period  of  fevered  excitement,  and  re 
vealed  to  the  people  more  clearly  than  anything  else  ever 
had  the  true  metal  of  the  man. 

CHARNEL-HOUSE  OF  CORPORATIONS. 

Shortly  after  the  publication  of  the  opinion,  Carpenter  was 
invited  by  the  officers  of  the  agricultural  society  of  Ripon, 
Wisconsin,  to  deliver  an  address  at  their  next  exhibition,  on 
"  The  power  of  legislatures  to  govern  corporations  of  their 
own  creation."  He  accepted,  and  September  16,  1874,  ap 
peared  before  an  audience  of  thousands  of  farmers  and  busi 
ness  men.  The  effort  was  an  argument  more  than  a  popular 
address.  Its  trend  was  similar  to  that  of  the  letters,  speeches 
and  arguments  previously  made,  but  it  was  much  fuller  and  its 
conclusions  more  irresistible.  Its  ramifications  extended  in 
all  directions,  only  to  strengthen  and  enlarge  the  inevitable 
result.  In  his  opening  sentences  he  said: 

I  am  requested  to  discuss  here  the  power  ot  the  legislature  over  railroad 
and  other  corporations.  The  power  of  the  legislature  is  one  thing  —  a  mere 
constitutional  question;  the  propriety  of  its  exercise,  and  the  extent  to 
which  it  should  be  exercised,  are  very  different  questions,  falling  entirely 
within  the  domain  of  public  policy.  I  shall  therefore,  with  one  hand,  open 
the  great  armory  of  sovereign  power,  and  in  doing  so  shall  expose  many 
weapons  which  wisdom  and  prudence,  an  enlightened  sense  of  justice  and 
of  the  public  good  will  dictate  should  never  be  used  except  in  case  of  dire 
necessity.  With  the  other  hand  I  shall  open  the  charnel-house  of  corpora 
tions  and  bid  these  companies, 

"  Come  view  the  ground 

Where  they  must  shortly  lie," 

if  they  persist  in  a  struggle  with  the  powers  of  sovereignty. 

Carpenter  then  explained  that  the  railway  companies  based 
their  pretensions  to  be  above  other  people  and  the  laws,  to  be 
exempt  from  the  operation  of  the  acts  passed  by  the  legisla- 


I 

CHARNEL-HOUSE   OF   CORPORATIONS.  159 

ture,  upon  three  propositions,  to  wit:  That  they  were  the 
owners  of  certain  property  which  they  could  use  or  not  as 
they  pleased,  and  if  used,  had  the  right  to  collect  such  charges 
as  they  pleased ;  (2)  that  the  state  had  entered  into  a  contract 
with  them,  and  any  attempt  to  fix  their  tariff  rates  was  a  vio 
lation  of  that  contract  —  a  thing  forbidden  by  the  constitu 
tion  ;  and  (3)  that  even  if  the  legislature  had  the  power,  it  would 
be  unjust  to  capitalists  to  exercise  it  after  money  had  been  in 
vested  under  charters  supposed  by  them  to  confer  the  un 
qualified  right  to  fix  their  own  rates. 

The  fallacy  of  these  pretensions  he  thoroughly  exposed. 
Railway  corporations,  unlike  marriages,  were  not  creations  of 
the  Divinity,  said  he ;  therefore  they  had  no  natural  or  inalien 
able  rights.  They  were  mere  human  contrivances,  subject 
to  the  will  of  their  creator  without  reserve  or  limit.  In  con 
cluding,  he  believed  he  had  shown,  as  clearly  as  human  logic 
and  law  could  show,  the  truth  of  these  propositions: 

1.  That  railways  are  the  mere  creatures  of  law,  drawing  their  breath  of 
life  from  law  alone,  capable  of  doing  only  what  the  law  permits  them  to  do, 
and  holding  their  lives  and  their  powers  at  the  mere  will  of  the  legislature. 

2.  That  the  business  these  companies  are  engaged  in  is  one  which  even 
natural  persons  can  not  carry  on  without  permission  of  the  legislature. 

3.  That  the  companies  are  obliged  to  transport  passengers  and  freight 
for  reasonable  compensation,  and   subject  themselves  to  suits  for  damages 
and  to  forfeitures  of  charter  if  they  fail  to  do  so. 

4.  That  railways  are  public  highways,  the  title  vested  in  the  corporation, 
but  vested  in  trust  for  the  state;  that  the  companies  are  merely  the  agents 
of  the  state  for  the  operation   and  management  of  these  great  highways; 
that  the  money  invested  by  the  companies  as  compensation  for  lands  con 
demned  or  right-of-way  purchased,  and  to  build,  equip  and  operate  the  roads, 
is  regarded  as  consideration  paid  to  the  state  for  the  franchise  conferred  by 
the  state  upon  the  companies.     And, 

5.  That  the  charters  granted  under  the  constitution  are  not  protected  by 
the  constitution  of  the  United    States  as  construed  in  the  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege  case,  but  may  be  altered  or  repealed  at  any  time. 

From  these  propositions  the  power  of  the  legislature  to  govern  and  con 
trol  railroads  and  fix  a  tariff  of  rates  for  them  results  as  a  necessary  and 
logical  conclusion  It  is  a  well-established  doctrine  of  the  law,  that  every 
thing  within  what  is  called  publici  juris  is  subject  to  legislative  control. 
Bridges,  ferries,  turnpikes,  mill-dams  and  fisheries  are  illustrative  subjects. 


l6o  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

And  when  the  character  of  railways  is  ascertained  to  fall  within   this  class 
of  property,  full  legislative  control  follows  as  matter  of  course. 

The  prophecies  of  Isaiah,  in  which  are  recorded  in  advance  the  successive 
footfalls  of  an  expiring  nationality,  are  no  truer  than  the  language  of  the 
supreme  court  of  South  Carolina  in  regard  to  railroads,  wherein  they  say 
that  "railways,  if  placed  aloof  from  such  [legislative]  control,  wouldittev&a- 
bly  become  suspected  of  partiality  and  odious  to  the  people"  The  railways  of 
our  own  state,  having  thus  far  been  exempt  from  such  control,  have  become 
suspected  of  partiality,  and,  in  a  sense,  have  become  odious  to  the  people. 
No  corporation  can  prosper  under  such  circumstances.  In  this  country 
nothing  can  exist  which  is  not  supported  by  public  opinion.  The  true  pol 
icy  of  railroad  companies  is  to  regain  what  they  have  lost  —  public  confi 
dence.  How  can  this  be  so  certainly  achieved  as  by  submitting  to  legislative 
control?  *  *  There  is  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  when  they  shall  sub 
mit  to  the  law  and  furl  their  insurrectionary  banners,  the  legislature  will 
deal  not  onlyjustly  but  generously  by  them.  *  *  But  the  power  of 
the  legislature  must  never  be  abandoned  by  the  people.  When  that  prin 
ciple  shall  once  be  established  and  conceded  by  all,  the  details  of  legislation 
should  be  so  arranged,  and  will  be,  as  to  do  complete  justice  both  to  the 
corporations  and  to  the  people. 

That  power  has  not  since  been  "  abandoned  by  the  people," 
either  in  Wisconsin  or  any  other  state,  and  the  doctrines  he 
enunciated  subsequently  became  the  decisions  of  the  highest 
state  courts,  and  were  affirmed  fully  by  the  lasting  judgment 
of  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States.  They  are  now 
accepted  everywhere,  by  railroads  as  well  as  courts  and  legis 
latures.  They  are  settled  principles  which  no  cause  or 
emergency  brings  into  dispute  or  question. 

Curiously  enough,  while  Carpenter  was  delivering  an  ad 
dress  at  Janesville,  Wisconsin,  and  just  as  he  had  made  a 
spirited  reference  to  the  contest  between  the  people  and  the 
railways,  he  received  a  telegram  from  Madison,  where 
Judges  David  Davis,  of  the  United  States  supreme  court, 
Thomas  Drummond,  of  the  United  States  circuit  court,  and 
James  C.  Hopkins,  of  the  United  States  district  court,  were 
hearing  a  test-case  under  the  Potter  law,  stating  that  the  act 
in  all  its  provisions  had  been  held  constitutional  and  valid. 

These  great  triumphs,  the  good  influence  of  which  will 
never  cease  to  be  felt  by  the  people,  came  at  the  end  of  a 


CHARNEL-HOUSE   OF   CORPORATIONS.  l6l 

long  series  of  vituperations  and  personal  as  well  as  profes 
sional  defamations  that  never  have  had  a  parallel  in  Wiscon 
sin.  The  stand  he  made  was  precisely  like  that  of  the 
individual  who  went  out  single-handed  to  do  battle  against 
the  artillery,  musketry  and  cavalry  of  an  entire  army.  Few 
lawyers  ever  scored  a  more  complete  and  important  victory, 
and  none  ever  moved  more  fearlessly  forward  in  what  he 
deemed  to  be  the  just  cause  of  the  people  while  receiving 
more  numerous  wounds  or  more  lasting  scars, 
ii 


l62  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

» 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

ADMISSION  TO  THE  BAR. 

But  few  attorneys  ever  practiced  before  as  many  courts 
as  Carpenter.  He  was  first  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Ver 
mont,  the  record  being  in  this  form:  "At  the  November 
term,  1847,  of  the  Washington  county  court,  and  on  the 
25th  day  of  November,  D.  M.  H.  Carpenter  was  duly 
enrolled  as  an  attorney  of  said  court,  having  taken  the 
oath  prescribed  by  the  rules."  At  this  time  he  passed  such 
an  unusually  creditable  examination  as  to  attract  the  atten 
tion  of  Chief  Justice  Redfield,  who  complimented  him  pub 
licly  upon  his  attainments  and  his  promising  future.  The 
admission  was  upon  the  recommendation  of  Mr.  Dillingham. 

His  next  admission  was  on  February  16, 1848,  when,  upon 
the  motion  of  Rufus  Choate,  he  was  admitted  to  practice  as 
an  attorney  and  counselor  of  the  supreme  judicial  court  of 
Massachusetts,  in  Boston,  Suffolk  county.  His  was  the  only 
admission  on  that  day,  and  he  signed  the  roll  in  a  clear,  clean 
hand,  "  D.  M.  H.  Carpenter." 

Arriving  in  Wisconsin  just  after  it  had  been  admitted  as  a 
state  but  before  its  circuit  courts  had  been  organized,  Car 
penter  appeared  before  Judge  David  Irvin,  in  the  United 
States  district  court,  June  term,  1848,  for  Rock  county,  and 
formally  became  an  attorney  of  that  court.  At  the  first 
term  of  the  circuit  court  for  Rock  county  under  the  state 
government,  and  on  September  18,  1848,  the  opening  day  of 
said  term,  Carpenter  and  twenty  others  were  admitted  to 
practice  by  Judge  Edward  V.  Whiton. 

On  December  20,  1850,  he  was,  on  motion,  admitted  as 
"  an  attorney  and  counselor "  of  the  supreme  court  of  the 
state  of  Wisconsin,  took  the  prescribed  oath,  and  signed  his 
name  to  the  roll:  "Math.  Hale  Carpenter."  This  record  is 
notable  for  the  reason  that,  so  far  as  known,  it  is  the  first 


LAW   PARTNERS.  163 

instance  in  which  he  used  the  words  "  Matthew  Hale  "  as  a 
portion  of  his  signature.1  At  Milwaukee,  January  5, 1852,  he 
was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  United  States  district  court, 
before  Judge  A.  G.  Miller,  and  signed  the  roll  "  Matt.  H. 
Carpenter." 

During  the  December  term,  1861,  of  the  United  States 
supreme  court,  held  at  Washington,  he  became  an  attorney 
and  counselor  thereof,  the  record  being  in  these  words:  "  On 
motion  first  made  to  the  court  in  this  behalf  by  Hon.  Jere 
miah  S.  Black,  it  is  ordered  that  Matthew  H.  Carpenter, 
Esquire,  of  Milwaukee,  state  of  Wisconsin,  be  admitted  to 
practice  as  an  attorney  and  counselor  of  the  court,  and  he 
was  sworn  accordingly,  February  5,  1862." 

In  later  years,  as  Carpenter's  practice  became  greatly 
enlarged  and  diversified,  he  was  admitted  to  the  supreme  and 
other  courts  of  New  York,  the  supreme  court  of  Maryland, 
the  supreme  and  other  courts  of  Pennsylvania,  the  various 
courts  sitting  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  the  various  courts 
of  Virginia,  Illinois,  and  of  several  other  states. 

LAW  PARTNERS. 

In  his  early  years,  Carpenter  conceived  the  idea  that  .a 
first-class  lawyer  needs  no  partners  —  in  fact,  that  such  a 
practitioner  is  generally  hampered  and  injured,  rather  than 
benefited,  by  partnership  relations.  Therefore,  when  he 
settled  in  Beloit,  having  previously  refused  the  partnership 

1  In  the  postscript  to  a  letter  written  to  his  sister,  Esther  J.  Taylor,  under 
date  of  January  i,  1851,  he  explained:  "Signing  my  name  Matt.  H.  Car 
penter,  reminds  me  that  I  should  explain.  I  had  so  many  initials  every 
body  fell  into  mistakes  with  them  —  some  writing  P.  Q.  R.,  some  D.  H. 
M.,  s-ome  M.  H.  D.,  some  H.  D.  M.,  some  one  thing,  and  some  another.  So 
I  concluded  to  drop  the  D.  Then,  as  Merritt  Hammond  was  so  plebeian,  I 
determined  to  change  the  thing  altogether.  I  now  write  it  Matthew  Hale 
Carpenter."  As  Carpenter  was  always  a  derider  of  aristocracy,  the  reason 
he  has  given  for  the  change,  namely,  that  his  childhood  name  was  too 
"plebeian,"  is  undoubtedly,  like  the  balance  of  the  letter  from  which  this  is 
quoted,  jocular.  He  was  originally  named  in  honor  of  a  friend,  Decatur 
Merritt  Hammond  Carpenter. 


164  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

offers  of  Paul  Dillingham  and  Rufus  Choate,  he  resolved  to 
enter  into  no  alliances  with  other  attorneys,  but  to  "  paddle 
his  own  canoe."  Sb  determined,  as  has  been  properly  re 
cited,  he  rented  an  office  and  hung  out  his  "shingle"  as 
plain  "  D.  M.  H.  Carpenter,  counselor  at  law." 

After  returning,  late  in  the  summer  of  1850,  from  the 
east,  he  received  a  proposition  from  Hazen  Cheney,  who 
had  begun  to  achieve  professional  success,  to  enter  into  a 
partnership.  The  proposal  was  favorable,  and  in  September 
of  that  year,  being  yet  partially  blind,  Carpenter  changed 
his  mind,  and  the  firm  of  Cheney  &  Carpenter  was  an 
nounced.  In  1856,  some  months  before  Carpenter  retired 
from  his  second  term  as  district  attorney  of  Rock  county,  the 
partnership  was  dissolved,  Mr.  Cheney  going  on  an  extended 
journey  to  Europe.  His  letters  from  abroad  were  edited  by 
Carpenter,  and  published  in  the  local  papers  of  Rock  county. 

In  the  fall  of  1858,  shortly  after  Carpenter  took  up  his 
residence  in  Milwaukee,  he  joined  professionally  with  Edward 
G.  Ryan,  under  the  name  and  style  of  Ryan  &  Carpenter. 
This  was  regarded  at  the  time,  as  in  fact  it  was,  the  strongest 
legal  firm  in  the  northwest.  Distinguished  honors  and  hand 
some  retainers  were  predicted  for  them.  In  March,  1859, 
James  G.  Jenkins,  a  young  man  who  had  begun  to  attract 
attention,  was  added  to  the  alliance,  and  the  firm  name 
changed  to  Ryan,  Carpenter  &  Jenkins.  The  terms  of  the 
new  agreement  provided  that  Carpenter  and  Ryan  should 
retain  the  proceeds  of  strictly  counsel  business.  At  the 
end  of  about  sixty  days  this  legal  family  was  broken  up,  the 
cause  being  a  marked  misunderstanding  between  the  senior 
members  as  to  the  division  of  the  retainers  in  the  famous  pro 
ceedings  involving  the  Milwaukee  &  La  Crosse  Railway, 
Carpenter  being  counsel  for  Newcomb  Cleveland,  and  Ryan 
for  Barnes,  trustee  of  the  third  mortgage  bonds.  It  is  impossi 
ble  to  estimate  the  degree  of  fame  and  prosperity  this  firm 
would  have  achieved  if  its  members  had  continued  together 
harmoniously.  They  were  all  singularly  brilliant  and  sue- 


LAW   PARTNERS.  165 

cessful  men.  Ryan  became  chief  justice  of  the  Wisconsin 
supreme  court,  and  Mr.  Jenkins,  having  been  once  a  nom 
inee  for  the  governorship,  is  now  at  the  head  of  one  of  the 
most  successful  law-firms  in  Wisconsin. 

Many  laughable  stories  concerning  the  domestic  infelicity 
of  the  firm  of  Ryan,  Carpenter  &  Jenkins  were  afloat  at  the 
time  of  its  dissolution.  The  popular  belief  was  that  the  sepa 
ration  grew  out  of  the  fact  that  Carpenter  was  unable  to 
bring  Ryan  into  a  laugh,  and  Ryan  unable  to  provoke  Car 
penter  to  anger.  Certain  it  was,  that,  though  occupying  ad 
joining  rooms,  connected  by  an  ample  and  easy-swinging 
door,  the  two  carried  on  all  business  transactions  with  each 
other  through  the  medium  of  written  messages,  carried  back 
and  forth  by  the  perplexed  but  faithful  clerk. 

From  1859,  until  his  election  to  the  senate,  Carpenter  had 
no  partners.  In  August,  1869,  he  formed  a  partnership  with 
Newton  S.  Murphey,  which  continued  until  1875,  w^n  offices 
in  Milwaukee  managed  by  Mr.  Murphey,  Carpenter  being 
largely  engaged  at  Washington,  where  he  also  had  office 
apartments. 

In  1875  ^e  law-firm  of  Carpenter  &  Smiths  was  formed, 
which  was  not  dissolved  until  shortly  before  Carpenter's 
death.  The  junior  members  of  the  firm  (who  occupied  the 
Milwaukee  office  and  attended  to  its  western  business,  while 
Carpenter  continued  as  before  in  Washington)  were  Winfield 
and  A.  A.  L.  Smith,  gentlemen  of  fine  professional  character 
and  accomplishments,  and  high  business  and  social  standing. 

In  April,  1877,  he  formed  another  pact  in  order  to  keep 
pace  with  his  large  and  increasing  Washington  business. 
The  name  and  style  of  the  firm  was  Carpenter  &  Coleman, 
the  junior  member  being  James  Coleman,  a  prominent  at 
torney,  federal  official  and  political  manager  of  Fond  du 
Lac,  Wisconsin.  This  business  alliance  was  dissolved  by 
Carpenter's  death.  Its  professional  transactions  were  simply 
enormous  and  its  success  exceptive. 

It  can  not,  of  course,  be  said  that  they  were  in  formal 


l66  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

partnership,  but  Carpenter,  at  various  times,  was  engaged 
to  assist,  or  had  the  assistance  of  in  important  causes,  such 
great  jurists  as  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  Jeremiah  S.  Black, 
James  A.  Garfield,  Caleb  Gushing,  Wayne  MacVeagh, 
William  Fullerton,  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  John  A.  Campbell, 
Charles  O'Conor,  Reverdy  Johnson,  Edwin  M.  Stanton, 
Montgomery  Blair,  Richard  K.  Merrick,  Ashbel  Green, 
Wm.  C.  Whitney,  Samuel  Shellabarger,  Luther  S.  Dixon, 
Wm.  M.  Evarts,  Wm.  M.  Meredith,  Lyman  Trumbull,  Dan 
iel  Cady,  Jonathan  E.  Arnold,  Timothy  O.  Howe,  Harlow 
S.  Orton,  Benjamin  Robbins  Curtis,  and  many  others. 


UNITED    STATES   SUPREME   COURT.  167 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

UNITED  STATES  SUPREME  COURT. 

The  various  members  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  United 
States  greeted  the  appearance  of  no  contemporaneous  attor 
ney  who  practiced  before  them  with  more  genuine  satisfaction 
than  they  inwardly  accorded  to  Carpenter.  He  was  always  so 
genial  and  courteous  in  his  manners,  so  attractive  in  appear 
ance,  and  withal  so  rich  in  his  eloquence,  original  in  his  style 
and  clear  in  his  reasoning,  that  they  esteemed  it  a  rare  treat 
to  listen  to  his  arguments.  He  entered  the  supreme  court 
chamber  for  the  first  time  in  1862,  and,  after  making  a  brief 
argument  on  a  preliminary  motion  in  the  matter  of  his  first 
cause  before  that  tribunal,  seated  himself  before  leaving  the 
chamber  and  wrote  to  his  wife: 

SUPREME  COURT  ROOM,  Friday,  12  o'clock,  M. 

MY  DARLING  BABIES: — The  gravest,  most  dignified  body  of  men  on 
earth  is  just  now  before  me.  A  squeaking  voice  from  Jersey  is  enlightening 
the  court,  yet  my  thought  is  over  the  prairie  and  my  heart  with  you,  dear, 
precious  pair,  who  are  to  me  more  than  courts  or  oratory,  more  than  sov 
ereignty  or  power  —  dearer  than  the  ruddy  drops  that  visit  my  heart. 
I  am  well  and  shall  write  you  more  at  length  when  I  get  rested. 

MATT. 

Carpenter  always  entertained  a  profound  respect  and  ad 
miration  for  the  supreme  court,  and  frequently,  in  some  deli 
cate  manner  during  his  arguments,  made  this  feeling  known 
to  its  members.  Whenever  people  were  disposed  to  attack 
the  courts  and  condemn  litigation  as  a  lottery  which  was  as 
likely  to  mete  out  injustice  as  justice,  he  rebuked  them,  point 
ing  out  the  incorruptibility,  conscientiousness  and  great  wis 
dom  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States,  with  the 
invariable  addendum  that  "  no  man  was  ever  unjustly  dealt 
with  by  that  tribunal."  But  this  admiration  and  respect  was 
not  all  on  one  side ;  it  seemed  to  be  mutually  cordial  between 
the  court  and  Carpenter.  Salmon  P.  Chase  said:  "We  re- 


1 68  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

gard  that  boy  as  one  of  the  very  ablest  jurists  in  the  country. 
I  am  not  the  only  justice  on  this  bench  who  delights  in  his 
eloquence  and  his  reasoning." 

During  several  years  he  appeared  before  this  court  not 
less,  and  perhaps  more  frequently  than  any  other  lawyer  in 
the  United  States,  and  became  very  familiar  and  friendly 
with  the  judges.  This  gave  rise,  no  doubt,  to  the  many 
ludicrous  anecdotes  extant  in  regard  to  his  alleged  contempt 
for  judicial  dignity,  but  all  of  which  were  as  far  from  the 
truth  as  possible.  For  instance,  it  was  published  in  almost 
every  newspaper  in  the  country,  that  the  first  time  Carpen- 
penter  entered  the  chamber  after  the  appointment  of  Morri 
son  R.  Waite  to  be  chief  justice,  he  "  swaggered  up  to  the 
new  presiding  judge,"  and,  reaching  his  hand  toward  the 
silver  snuff-box  that  lay  before  Waite,  exclaimed:  "Mister, 
please  give  me  a  pinch  of  that  snufF !  "  For  an  unaccount 
able  reason  this  story,  ridiculously  improbable  as  it  was, 
dropped  into  very  general  belief,  and  afforded  Carpenter 
more  annoyance  than  any  other  of  that  sort  ever  concocted. 

There  was,  it  must  be  admitted,  some  foundation  for  an 
ecdotes  of  that  character,  as  he  was  the  sunshine  of  that 
solemn  and  august  chamber.  Almost  any  practitioner  can, 
before  a  justice  of  the  peace  or  in  the  ordinary  country  courts, 
throw  the  groundlings  into  convulsions  by  exploding  cheap 
jokes  or  reciting,  with  groan  and  grimace,  the  musty  stories 
of  his  grandfathers;  but  the  men  who  can  be  witty  and  jocular 
and  yet  not  offensive  before  such  a  grave  and  learned  body 
as  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States,  are  indeed  few. 
Carpenter  was  among  and  the  leader  of  those  few. 

Caleb  Gushing  once  said  to  Henry  Wilson,  as  the  twain 
sat  in  the  chamber  and  observed  Carpenter  entering,  his 
coat  and  vest  unfastened  on  account  of  the  excessive  heat, 
a  bundle  of  papers  and  a  volume  of  reports  in  one  hand  and 
a  large  palm-leaf  fan  in  the  other:  "  I  do  love  to  watch  the 
entry  of  that  man  into  court ;  he  comes  in  with  such  a  sun 
shiny  smile,  such  a  boyish  indifference  of  step,  and  such  a 


UNITED    STATES   SUPREME   COURT.  169 

roguish  twinkle  of  the  eyes,  as  seem  to  say,  '  Now,  listen 
while  I  have  some  sport l  with  these  old  codgers.'  "  There 
was  absolutely  no  other  attorney  of  that  court  who  could  do 
those  things  and  have  them  appear  well  on  his  part,  and 
prove  a  source  of  pleasure  to  the  occupants  of  the  bench. 

During  the  nineteen  years  Carpenter  was  a  practitioner 
before  the  supreme  court,  he  presented  a  comparatively 
large  number  of  brother  attorneys  for  admission,  and  in 
making  the  necessary  motions  hardly  ever  failed  to  put 
forth  a  delicate  compliment  for  the  applicant  or  the  court,  or 
both.  For  instance,  he  introduced  to  the  court,  and  moved 
the  admission  to  practice  as  an  attorney  thereof,  Joseph  A. 
Sleeper,  of  Chicago,  while  Justice  Nelson  was  on  the  bench. 
It  was  Nelson's  habit  on  such  occasions  to  ask  the  attorney 
presenting  an  applicant,  "Is  the  candidate  qualified  under 
the  rule  ? "  After  having  made  his  motion,  Carpenter  ob 
served  the  punctilious  justice  preparing  to  propound  his 
usual  question,  and  quickly  added,  "  I  may  say,  your  honor, 
that  Brother  Sleeper  is  not  only  qualified  under  the  rule, 
but  far  beyond  the  rule."  At  this  unexpected  destruction  of 
his  time-honored  formality,  a  curious  expression  overspread 
Justice  Nelson's  face,  the  countenances  of  the  other  justices 
relaxed  into  broad  smiles,  and  the  attorneys  present  agreed 

1  He  himself  has  described  how  he  first  u  took  the  court  by  the  horns:  " 

MONDAY  NOON,  February  13,  1865. 

DEAR  WIFE: — The  agony  is  over.  The  motion  is  decided  and  in  our 
favor.  Our  cause  is  to  be  taken  up,  out  of  its  order,  on  the  27th  instant 
Good! 

You  don't  know  how  relieved  I  feel,  how  gratified  I  am.  Mr.  Ewing 
and  Mr.  Carlisle  said  it  would  be  useless  to  try  it;  such  a  motion  would 
never  prevail.  It  did,  though. 

Judge  Hall,  of  California,  congratulating  me  this  morning,  said  he  never 
heard  so  bitter  a  speech  in  court  as  I  made  on  this  motion,  and  he  expected 
every  moment  the  judges  would  stop  me.  So  did  I,  I  must  confess; 
though  I  kept  my  eye  wide  open  on  old  Chase,  and  intended,  if  I  saw  him 
firing  up,  to  dodge. 

They  didn't  stop  me,  but  did  stop  Cary. 

Truly,  MATT. 


I7O  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

that,  under  the  circumstances,  none  of  the  cloth  ever  re 
ceived  a  better  "  send-off  "  in  the  supreme  court. 

Notwithstanding  occasional  playfulness,  Carpenter's  argu 
ments  and  reasonings  on  mooted  and  unsettled  questions  of 
law  or  practice  had  great  influence  upon  the  court  individ 
ually  and  collectively,  and  went  as  far  as  those  of  any  other 
man  of  his  time  in  determining  them.  This  was  on  account 
of  the  wonderful  perspicuity  and  clearness  of  his  reasoning 
and  the  justness  as  well  as  strength  of  his  conclusions.  That 
fact  the  members  of  the  court  never  denied,  nor  did  they 
ever  fail,  in  private  intercourse,  to  pay  the  highest  compli 
ments  to  his  ability.  In  fact,  at  the  conclusion  of  his  first 
argument  before  this  court,  he  was  awarded  the  honorable 
distinction  of  a  very  unqualified  and  hearty  compliment  from 
the  judges. 

The  facts  are  to  some  extent  related  in  his  own  way  in  the 
following  letter,  composed  while  his  first  real  contest  before 
the  court  was  progressing: 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Thursday  Evening. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE:  —  I  have  been  nearly  intoxicated,  not  with  whisky, 
but  flattery.  Day  before  yesterday  I  spoke  a  little  over  an  hour  and  yester 
day  all  day.  There  is  no  end  or  limit  to  the  praise  I  have  received  from 
the  highest  sources.  Judge  Grier  told  Middleton  that  I  was  as  good  an 
orator  as  Clay  ever  was,  and  that  he,  who  had  heard  all  the  great  lawyers 
of  this  country,  had  never, listened  to  a  better  argument.  Judge  Nelson 
told  Starkweather  (the  general)  this  morning  that  my  speech  yesterday  was 
a  perfect  treat.  Lawyers,  congressmen  and  everybody  seem  to  think  I 
have  made  a  great  strike  and  made  my  mark  in  the  supreme  court  for  all 
time. 

All  this  is  at  least  very  pleasant,  and  you  who  are  waiting  in  loneliness 
to  have  me  make  a  "strike"  and  then  return,  are  entitled  to  enjoy  my  tri 
umph.  And  I  know  you  will  forgive  the  vanity  of  repeating  these  things. 

Brown  spoke  again  this  morning  two  hours,  and   Browning  now  has  the 
floor  against  me,  and  will  probably  speak  an  hour  in  the  morning;  then  1 
shall  reply  to  them  three  hours  to-morrovs'.         ***** 
Believe  me,  as  ever,  MATT. 

From  time  to  time  all  the  justices  who  knew  him  have 
uttered  tributes  to  Carpenter's  genius  and  learning.  Stephen 


UNITED   STATES   SUPREME   COURT. 

J.  Field  has  written  that  "  he  was  one  of  the  most  remarka 
ble  men  who  ever  appeared  before  the  supreme  court  of  the 
United  States."  Joseph  P.  Bradley  is  more  generous  but  not 
more  emphatic.  He  has  written: 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  January  28,  1883. 

DEAR  SIR  : —  Having  never  been  in  a  social  way  very  intimate  with  Mr. 
Carpenter,  I  can  recall  no  anecdotes  of  his  every-day  life  worth  recording. 
As  a  lawyer  I  knew  him  much  better.  I  esteemed  him  one  of  the  best  ad 
vocates  I  ever  knew.  He  was  extremely  happy  in  possessing  the  court  at 
once  with  the  pith  and  gist  of  his  case,  no  matter  how  occult  or  compli 
cated  it  might  be,  Although  to  always  do  this  must  have  cost  him  an  im 
mense  amount  of  labor  and  exact  investigation,  his  address  did  not  betray 
them,  except  in  the  result,  his  manner  and  style  having  all  the  outward 
appearance  of  being  perfectly  oft- hand  and  spontaneous. 

He  was  indeed  a  thorough-bred  lawyer,  and  must  have  devoted  himselt 
in  the  early  part  of  his  studies  very  closely  and  laboriously  to  the  great 
classics  of  the  law.  It  was  a  real  pleasure  to  see  him  in  any  case;  and 
whatever  else  came,  we  always  knew  we  should  have  at  least  one  strong 
beam  01  light  poured  upon  the  pending  case  before  it  was  closed. 

As  far  as  my  personal  intercourse  with  Mr.  Carpenter  did  extend,  I  al 
ways  found  him  genial,  pleasant  and  full  of  life  and  heartiness.  It  really 
gave  me  pain  once,  when  Mr.  Middleton,  our  clerk,  told  me  Mr.  Carpenter 
had  a  fancy  that  I  did  not  like  him.  I  could  not  help  exclaiming:  *'  If  I  do 
not  like  Carpenter  whom  do  I  like?"  I  suppose  he  became  possessed  of 
the  erroneous  impression  from  the  fact  that  I  really  felt  toward  him  more 
as  one  fellow-lawyer  feels  toward  another  whom  he  loves,  and  was,  perhaps, 
more  free  in  my  remarks  upon  his  positions  in  argument  than  I  would  have 
been  toward  a  more  prim  and  solemn  and  distant  individual.  An  explana 
tion  of  this  position  made  our  subsequent  relations  exceedingly  pleasant. 

It  is  sad  past  expression  to  think  Mr.  Carpenter's  life  has  gone  out.  It 
was  a  brilliant  light,  and  will  live  in  the  memory  of  those  who  knew  him 
as  long  as  their  lives  shall  last.  It  is  also  sad  to  contemplate  the  fact  that 
some  of  our  most  brilliant  lawyers  are  forgotten  after  a  few  years,  while 
the  plodders-on-paper  remain  fixed  in  the  public  mind.  They  illustrate 
what  Tacitus  says  or  Quintus  Haterius:  "  At  the  close  of  this  year  died 
those  distinguished  men,  Asinius  Agrippa,  of  honorable  rather  than  an 
cient  ancestry,  of  which  he  was  most  worthy,  and  Quintus  Haterius,  of  sen 
atorial  family  and  an  eloquence  celebrated  whilst  he  lived,  but  no  monuments 
of  whose  genius  have  survived,  for  his  strength  lay  in  original  vigor  rather 
than  preparation;  and  whilst  the  plodding  industry  of  others  comes  down 
to  us,  the  sweet  voice  and  fluent  eloquence  of  Haterius  died  with  him." 

Mr.  Carpenter's  senatorial  efforts  are,  of  course,  preserved  in  the  mauso 
leum  of  the  Congressional  Record,  but  they  are  by  no  means  his  best  His 


172  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

noble  forensic  arguments,  which  ought  to  have  made  him  immortal,  are 
entirely  lost  —  especially  the  embellishment  and  charm  ot  "that  sweet 
voice  and  fluent  eloquence." 

Yours  truly,  JOSEPH  P.  BRADLEY. 

Justice  Samuel  F.  Miller's  special  tribute  is  this: 

WASHINGTON,  February  23,  1883. 

DEAR" SIR: — My  first  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Carpenter  was  made  when, 
in  the  summer  of  1863, 1  went  to  Milwaukee  to  hold  the  circuit  court  of  the 
United  States  for  that  district  The  short  term  of  the  court  was  mainly 
engrossed  with  what  has  been  familiarly  known  as  the  La  Crosse  railway 
litigation.  There  were  numerous  cases  on  the  docket,  in  which  the  road, 
its  ownership,  its  mortgages  and  its  ruins  were  involved,  in  all  of  which 
Mr.  Carpenter  was  engaged. 

It  was  evident  at  once  that  he  was  the  peer  of  any  man  at  the  bar,  and 
the  superior  of  most  of  them  even  then,  although  he  was  quite  a  young 
man.  This  relation  was  not  changed  when  he  came  to  the  bar  of  the  su 
preme  court  ot  the  United  States,  where  he  at  once,  on  his  first  appearance 
in  fact,  took  a  front  rank  among  its  members,  which  he  retained  until  the 
day  of  his  death. 

I  well  remember,  on  the  occasion  of  his  first  argument,  when  the  judges 
were  exchanging  their  robes  for  their  overcoats  in  the  little  room  appropri 
ated  for  that  purpose,  that  Judge  Grier,  addressing  me,  exclaimed :  "  Brother 
Miller,  who  is  that  Mr.  Carpenter  who  has  come  down  from  your  circuit? 
I  want  to  know  him,  for  I  have  heard  nothing  equal  to  his  eflbrt  to-day 
since  Mr.  Webster  was  before  us." 

Mr.  Carpenter  had  a  sweet  voice,  a  manly,  frank  manner,  with  just 
enough  animation  to  command  the  attention,  without  fatiguing  the  ear. 
His  utterance  was  very  distinct,  and  his  command  of  the  most  appropriate 
words,  whether  technical  or  otherwise,  was  equal  to  that  of  any  man  to 
whom  I  ever  listened.  Of  course,  this  constituted  him  a  natural  orator,  and 
for  places  in  which  it  was  my  fortune  to  hear  him  —  in  the  courts  —  whether 
at  nisi  frius  in  the  haste  and  excitement  of  every-day  practice,  or  in  the 
more  sedate  audience  of  the  supreme  court,  I  have  not  known  his  superior 
in  that  character. 

But  he  was  more.  He  was  a  great  lawyer.  He  was  thoroughly  versed 
in  the  learning  01  his  profession,  with  a  mind  eminently  adapted  to  seize 
and  elucidate  its  principles. 

I  think  the  most  remarkable  trait  in  Mr.  Carpenter's  character  was  his 
industry.  With  an  easy  elocution,  a  fine  command  of  the  choicest  lan 
guage,  and  a  fullness  of  legal  learning  rarely  equaled,  he  never  came  to  the 
argument  of  any  case  without  a  previous  preparation  as  laborious  and 
thorough  as  the  youngest  lawyer  in  his  first  appearance  would  be  expected 
to  make.  It  was  this  which  enabled  him  to  be  always  prepared  to  answer 


UNITED   STATES   SUPREME   COURT.  1 73 

questions  put  to  him  by  the  court  in  those  colloquies  they  delighted  to  hold 
with  him,  and  in  which  his  readiness,  his  apt  repartee  and  his  enviable  good 
nature  showed  him  in  the  best  phase  of  his  character. 

He  was  my  intimate  and  valued  friend  for  the  whole  period  of  his  pub 
lic  life,  and  I  love  to  linger  over  his  character  as  a  great  lawyer  and 
great  advocate.  I  know  of  no  contemporary  of  his  greater  in  this  char 
acter.  Yours  truly,  SAM'L  F.  MILLER. 

Not,  perhaps,  in  the  form  of  writings  that  may  be  herein 
preserved,  but  each  in  his  own  way,  the  other  justices  have 
honored  Carpenter  no  less  than  is  done  in  the  foregoing  let 
ters.  The  judicial  history  of  the  United  States  affords  but 
few  instances  of  this  kind.  It  is  a  judgment  from  the  high 
est  source  affirming  Carpenter's  genius  and  learning  in  those 
enactments  and  principles  that  govern  our  earthly  actions 
and  determine  the  equitable  relations  of  all  mankind. 


1 74  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

ATTRIBUTES  AND  TRIBUTES. 

There  never  was  an  argument  naturally  so  abstract  and 
dry  that  Carpenter  could  not  enrich  and  make  it  attractive. 
In  traveling  through  the  dreariest  waste  of  citations  and  au 
thorities  he  never  failed  to  strew  the  pathway  with  the  roses 
of  his  illustration  and  the  fragrance  of  his  humor.  His  most 
grave  and  profound  pleadings  were  now  and  then  unexpect 
edly  illuminated  by  the  vivid  corruscations  of  his  wit,  as 
through  the  blackest  storm-clouds  burst  the  brightest  flashes 
of  lightning.  In  this  respect  none  of  his  contemporaries 
could  imitate  him.  Therefore  it  was  that  counsel  and  judges 
always  observed  his  coming  with  pleasure,  for  they  knew 
that  before  finishing  he  certainly  would  give  them  something 
enjoyable.  It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  those  innumerable 
gleams  of  overflowing  genius  as  well  as  all  the  irresistible 
illustrations  of  his  court  oratory  have  been  lost,  except  where 
their  dimmed  and  mangled  fragments  may  remain  in  the 
memories  of  those  who  can  not  repeat  but  will  never  forget 
their  original  brilliancy. 

His  printed  briefs  were  frequently  as  quaint  and  laughable 
as  his  oral  arguments  were  rich  and  variegated.  One  of  his 
many  suits  for  Newcomb  Cleveland  was  against  the  insolv 
ent  Marine  Bank  of  Milwaukee,  on  a  financial  transaction  in 
1859.  H-e  Played  the  court  for  an  order  to  compel  all  the 
creditors  of  the  bank  to  contribute  to  the  expenses  of  his  suit, 
asked  for  a  receiver,  and  also  prayed  "  that  such  other  orders, 
regulations,  special  proceedings  and  unheard-of  remedies 
may  be  from  time  to  time  in  this  action  invented,  ordered  and 
had  as  the  nature  of  the  case  may  require,  and  that  this 
plaintiff  may  from  time  to  time  and  always  (for  he  never  ex 
pects  to  see  the  end  of  this  action)  have  such  other  and 
further,  new  and  extraordinary  relief  as  the  nature  of  this 


PROFESSIONAL    INDUSTRY.  175 

action  may  require;  and  that  everybody  else  may  have  ail  the 
relief  they  are  entitled  to  in  this  action  according  to  law  and 
according  to  the  decisions  of  the  supreme  court  made  or  to  be 
made,  and  that,  too,  as  fully  and  amply  as  anybody  can  here 
after  suggest,  and  as  the  plaintiff  may  hereafter  have  occasion 
to  ask  when  he  sees  how  this  thing  works."  Nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  century  later,  after  both  Carpenter  and  Cleve 
land  had  been  gathered  to  their  fathers,  the  suit  was  revived 
and  several  judgments  were  entered;  but  the  matter  is  still 
pending,  and  probably  Cleveland's  grandchildren  will  not  see 
it  finally  concluded. 

In  one  of  his  printed  briefs  in  the  Milwaukee  &  La  Crosse 
Railroad  cases  in  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States,  Car 
penter  replied  to  the  advances  of  his  adversary  by  saying  he 
knew  of  but  one  possible  authority  that  could  be  urged  in 
support  of  his  claim;  and  that  was  the  Scriptures,  which 
said:  "  From  him  who  hath  not  shall  be  taken  away  even  that 
which  he  hath; "  but  added,  that  never  to  his  knowledge  had 
that  principle  been  applied  to  the  rolling-stock  of  a  railroad 
company. 

PROFESSIONAL  INDUSTRY. 

Carpenter's  industry  as  a  lawyer,  judged  by  all  human 
tests,  was  abreast  of  the  marvelous.  His  capacity  for  work 
was  unequaled.  He  passed  the  most  insurmountable  diffi 
culties  without  demonstration  and  accomplished  the  heaviest 
tasks  with  apparent  ease.  He  shrunk  from  nothing,  never 
complained  that  the  work  before  him  was  greater  than  he 
might  wish,  never  regarded  the  most  cloudy  and  intricate 
case  as  beyond  reduction  to  a  clear,  simple,  understandable 
proposition.  He  held  that  legal  papers  should  be  shorn  of 
all  useless  verbiage  and  extraneous  matter,  and  that  premises, 
statements  of  fact,  the  law,  authorities,  decisions  and  con 
clusions  should  be  so  simple  and  palpable  that  whoever  could 
read  the  English  language  would  be  able  to  understand 
them  perfectly.  Hence  it  was  that  his  briefs  were  every 
where  regarded  as  models  of  lucidity  and  simplicity. 

This  reputation  was  earned  through  a  system  of  unex- 


176  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

ampled  labor.  He  searched  everywhere  for  law  or  decisions 
bearing  upon  the  matter  in  hand,  and  brooked  no  rest  until 
fully  satisfied  he  had  found  the  governing  principle,  cleared 
it  of  underbrush  and  rubbish,  and  fortified  it  upon  every 
possible  point  the  court  or  the  opposition  could  raise.  He 
thus  was  without  doubt  on  his  feet,  and  under  the  frequent 
cross-questionings  of  the  courts,  the  most  unhesitating  and 
learned  attorney  of  his  time.  He  bore  that  reputation,  and 
a  competent  critic  has  never  yet  pronounced  it  undeserved. 
But  he  enjoyed  an  enviable  fame  as  an  advocate  outside  of 
the  somewhat  limited  circle  of  courts  and  barristers.  His 
arguments  always  drew  large  popular  audiences.  He  was 
never  less  than  pleasing  and  instructive  to  the  commonest 
novice,  and  very  frequently  his  pleas  were  entrancing  or  elec 
trifying.  He  was  always  eloquent.  Cicero's  estimate  of 
Mucius  Scasvola  might  have  been  pronounced  in  equal  truth 
of  Carpenter:  "He  was  the  most  eloquent  among  lawyers 
and  the  best  lawyer  among  men  of  eloquence." 

METHODS  OF  LABOR. 

The  methods  and  labor  that  brought  fame  thus  enviable 
and  extended,  are  interesting  and  peculiar.  In  this  regard  is 
had  the  testimony  of  all  his  surviving  partners  and  associates. 
James  Coleman,  his  last  partner,  testifies: 

Carpenter's  manner  of  working  was  different  from  that  of  lawyers  ordi 
narily.  Instead  of  having  a  regular  routine  of  every-day  work,  coming 
down  to  the  office  at  nine  and  working  till  four,  and  then  leaving  everything 
until  the  next  day,  he  worked  at  a  case  steadily  day  and  night  until  his 
brief  was  complete.  Then  he  would  rest.  He  might  spend  days  in  appar 
ently  doing  no  hard  work.  Yet  he  would  be  thinking  of  the  case  he  had 
on  hand,  and  when  everything  was  ready  he  did  not  stop  until  all  he  had 
on  his  mind  was  committed  to  paper  and  in  the  printer's  office.  While  he 
did  not  work  regularly,  he  worked  more  hours  in  a  month  or  a  year  than 
any  half-dozen  lawyers  of  whom  I  ever  heard. 

Winfield  Smith,  of  Milwaukee,  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Carpenter  &  Smiths,  brings  corroborative  evidence: 

His  habits  of  work  were  irregular.  Studious  and  industrious,  he  often 
gave  his  days  freely  to  mere  friendly  chat,  and  when  darkness  sent  away 


METHODS    OF   LABOR.  177 

his  visitors  he  would  settle  down  to  the  serious  business  of  study,  which 
often  lasted  far  after  midnight  Working  with  nervous  rapidity,  he  made, 
in  a  few  silent  hours,  such  strides  in  the  preparation  of  cases  as,  with  other 
men,  required  days  of  patient  labor. 

A.  A.  L.  Smith,  another  member  of  the  same  firm,  goes 
in  a  slightly  different  direction: 

The  traits  of  character  most  noticeable  in  the  office  were  his  thorough 
and  vigorous  pursuit  of  any  investigation  he  had  in  hand  until  he  had  mas 
tered  and  exhausted  it;  his  genial,  pleasant  manner  toward  all,  no  matter 
what  errand  brought  the  visitor  nor  how  inopportune  the  visit;  the  persist 
ence  and  rapidity  with  which  he  dispatched  business,  and  above  all  his 
abounding  cheerfulness,  by  which  he  made  even  the  most  laborious  task  a 
source  of  pleasure  to  whosoever  assisted'  him  in  its  performance.  Clear 
ness,  conciseness  and  accuracy  of  statement  were  always  sought  by  him 
both  in  his  own  utterances  and  those  of  others,  and  it  was  frequently  his 
practice  to  point  out  to  those  about  him  any  language  found  in  decisions 
under  view  which  excelled  in  these  respects.  If  the  sentence  contained  an 
important  rule  of  law,  it  was  his  practice  to  commit  it  to  memory. 

Rufus  Choate  said  that  "  Young  Carpenter  was  possessed 
of  a  love  for  devouring  books  that  was  more  than  remark 
able —  it  amounted  almost  to  a  mania."  Judge  Geo.  W. 
Gate,  of  Stevens  Point,  Wisconsin,  who  was  familiar  with 
Carpenter's  habits  in  Washington,  says: 

People  called  Matt,  brilliant,  but  they  did  not  know  by  what  exertions 
he  became  so.  No  one,  except  those  who  were  closely  connected  with  him, 
knew  of  his  work.  One  moment  he  would  be  in  the  senate,  and  the  next 
would  be  gone.  If  you  had  searched  for  him  you  would  have  found  him 
in  the  senate  library,  the  congressional  library  or  in  the  supreme  court 
room.  It  was  a  mystery  to  many  what  time  he  found  to  sleep  and  rest. 

The  venerable  Elisha  Starr,  of  Milwaukee,  who  for  many 
years  was  Carpenter's  printer,  deposes  that  a  part  of  the 
bargain  of  that  period  was  a  proviso  allowing  his  patron  to 
read  all  proofs  and  compare  printed  with  original  briefs  in 
the  night,  after  the  work  of  the  day  had  been  wholly  laid 
aside.  Mr.  Starr  alleges  that  Carpenter  almost  invariably 
appeared  late  in  the  evening  to  examine  his  proofs,  and 
that  he  was  very  particular  to  know  that  every  citation  or 
quotation  was  absolutely  correct.  His  custom  was  to  bring 
one  or  two  good  cigars  which  were  destroyed  as  the  work 

12 


178  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

proceeded.  He  thus  could  accomplish,  Mr.  Starr  avers, 
more  than  any  other  man  who  ever  entered  his  office. 

Frequently,  after  attending  to  office  business  all  day  in 
Milwaukee,  he  would  take  the  cars  in  the  evening  for  some 
point  in  the  interior  of  the  state,  where  he  had  been  engaged 
to  appear  in  court  on  the  following  morning.  It  is  related 
by  numerous  railway  conductors  and  employes  that  on  such 
occasions  he  generally  asked  for  a  chair  and  a  desk  in  the 
baggage  car,  and  having  spread  before  him  the  books  brought 
from  the  office,  would  work  with  marvelous  intensity  upon 
the  cause  he  was  to  represent  on  the  morrow,  oblivious  of 
the  rattle  of  the  cars,  the  crash  of  incoming  and  outgoing 
baggage,  or  the  stops  and  starts  of  the  train,  until  the  journey 
was  finished. 

At  such  times  he  was  regarded  by  the  railwray  employes 
with  deep  curiosity.  He  generally  unfastened  his  coat  and 
vest,  laid  aside  his  soft  crushed  hat,  and  chewed  with  inces 
sant  rapidity  upon  an  unlighted  cigar.  If,  after  working  and 
traveling  all  night  in  this  manner,  he  could  secure  one  hour's 
rest  and  sleep  at  the  end  of  the  journey,  he  wras,  to  all  ap 
pearances,  perfectly  refreshed,  and  entered  into  the  business 
and  labors  of  the  day  with  such  cheerfulness  and  overflow 
ing  good  humor  as  with  others  only  succeed  a  long  and 
happy  vacation. 

He  believed  sincerely  in  the  substance  of  the  ancient  oath 
of  English  barristers:  "To  present  nothing  to  the  court  in 
falsehood,  but  to  make  war  for  his  client;"  and  often  declared 
that  he  agreed  with  Lord  Brougham  that  a  lawyer's  fealty 
to  his  client  was  above  that  to  his  king.  These  beliefs  car 
ried  him  into  those  long  sieges  of  labor  and  research  in  which 
whole  libraries  were  literally  devoured  for  the  benefit  of 
every  client  intrusting  him  with  business. 

fc       WORK  WITHOUT  PAY. 

Perhaps  no  lawyer  of  equal  or  approximate  eminence  ever 
so  successfully  escaped  the  calumny  of  the  charge  that  he 


WORK   WITHOUT    PAY.  1 79 

was  an  extorter  of  exorbitant  fees.  Certainly  no  one  was 
ever  more  deserving  of  such  an  escape.  He  never  turned 
away  a  client  because  of  his  poverty,  holding  that  the  poor 
were  especially  entitled  to  every  consideration  and  advan 
tage  before  the  courts.  They  must,  he  said,  depend  upon 
judicial  tribunals  to  do  for  them  what  the  power  of  wealth 
can  generally  accomplish  for  its  possessors  without  the  aid 
of  judge,  jury  or  attorney,  outside  of  the  tantalizing  and 
costly  delays  of  legal  proceedings. 

"  Courts,"  he  once  contended  before  the  supreme  court  of 
Wisconsin,  "  are  the  poor  man's  only  safe  and  sure  protec 
tion  ;  and  as  I  am  a  sworn  officer  of  the  court,  it  would  be 
my  duty,  if  it  were  not  the  impulse  of  my  heart,  to  prose 
cute  his  cause  with  my  best  vigor  and  ability  without  fee  or 
hope  of  reward.  As  your  honors  deal  out  justice  without 
regard  to  the  wealth  of  your  petitioner,  so  must  I,  if  I  re 
main  true  to  my  profession,  bestow  upon  him  my  professional 
services  when  his  rights  or  possessions  shall  fall  into  jeop 
ardy,  though  he  hath  not  a  farthing  for  my  fee."  A  mem 
ber  of  the  court  complimented  him  for  this  noble  sentiment, 
declaring  it  not  only  adorned  and  elevated  him  and  his  pro 
fession,  but  "  would  enrich  any  system  of  religion  in  the 
world."  Jeremiah  S.  Black,  dwelling  upon  this  character 
istic  of  his  dead  peer  and  friend,  said: 

His  notions  of  professional  ethics  were  pure  and  high  toned.  He  never 
acted  upon  motives  of  lucre  or  malice.  He  would  take  what  might  be 
called  a  bad  case,  because  he  thought  that  every  man  should  have  a  fair 
trial ;  but  he  would  use  no  falsehood  to  gain  it ;  he  was  true  to  the  court  as 
well  as  to  the  client.  He  was  the  least  mercenary  of  all  lawyers;  a  large 
proportion  of  his  business  was  done  for  nothing. 

He  could  never  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  pleadings  of  pov 
erty,  though  often  the  plea  was  that  of  the  dissembler  and 
scoundrel,  against  which  a  demurrer  would  have  been  sus 
tained  in  any  court  of  equity  under  the  sun.  This  generos 
ity  amounted  to  almost  a  fault.  With  even  those  known  to 
be  in  possession  of  the  means  for  the  liquidation  of  debts,  he 


l8o  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

was  not  always  exacting.  Hundreds  of  his  earned  and  ac 
knowledged  fees  remain  unpaid  to  this  day,  because  the 
debtor  clients  pleaded  poverty  or  had  suffered  misfortune. 

PROFESSIONAL  ESTIMATES. 

Some  lawyers  browbeat  witnesses,  some  abuse  and  insult 
them,  some  attempt  to  frighten  and  others  to  anger  them, 
and  others  still  to  lead  them,  by  entangling  questions,  into 
unintentional  misstatements  or  contradictions  about  those 
minor  details  with  which  the  vital  parts  of  a  case  can  always 
be  surrounded.  These  contemptible  tricks,  which  are  like 
short  weights  with  the  grocer,  forgery  with  the  banker,  and 
general  dishonesty  with  any  business  class,  were  never  Car 
penter's.  He  was  above  them,  and  more  successful  before 
the  jury  or  the  court  than  any  of  their  votaries.  Judge 
MacArthur  illustrates  Carpenter's  ability  to  expose  instead 
of  hide  the  truth,  by  this  reference  to  cases  coming  under  his 
judicial  observation: 

Lord  Brougham's  cross-examination  of  the  Italian  witness  in  the  House 
of  Lords,  upon  the  trial  of  Queen  Caroline,  has  always  been  regarded  as 
one  of  the  greatest  master-pieces  in  the  history  of  English  state  trials.  But 
I  am  quite  sure  that  I  have  witnessed  an  instance  of  the  same  kind  upon 
the  Ottman  trial,  in  this  district,  for  the  treasury  robbery,  in  which  for  two 
days  Carpenter  conducted  the  cross-examination  of  an  accomplice  used  as 
a  witness  by  the  government.  The  wonderful  fertility  of  interrogation  that 
was  baffled  by  no  evasion,  and  the  patience  with  which  he  listened  to 
tedious  details,  and  utilized  them  by  dexterous  turns  of  expression  and 
quick  and  unexpected  questions,  presented  his  wonderful  skill  and  resources 
in  a  way  which  I  have  never  seen  approached.  In  two  other  instance*,  I 
have  known  him,  by  the  mere  force  of  probing  the  conscience  and  throw 
ing  the  witnesses  off  their  guard,  to  trace  the  crimes  of  forgery  and  perjury 
to  the  witnesses  themselves,  in  so  clear  a  manner  as  to  end  the  prosecutions 
and  save  his  clients. 

While  Carpenter  always  gave  expression  to  his  perfect 
respect  for  the  bench,  he  was  essentially  intolerant,  it  may  be 
said  a  despiser,  of  a  judge  who  knew  no  law.  He  regarded 
it  as  an  outrage  to  have  such  men  on  the  bench,  and 
thought  them  deserving  of  as  little  esteem  as  they  possessed 


PROFESSIONAL    ESTIMATES.  l8l 

legal  learning.  In  one  of  the  cases  brought  in  behalf  of  the 
United  States  treasury  for  robbery,  he  plainly  intimated  that 
one  of  the  judges  knew  no  law,  and  the  imputation  was 
meekly  borne. 

Said  the  great  English  jurist,  Lord  Coke :  "  If  I  am  asked 
a  question  of  common  law,  I  should  be  ashamed  if  I  could 
not  immediately  answer  it;  but  if  I  am  asked  a  question  of 
statute  law,  I  should  be  ashamed  to  answer  it  without  refer 
ring  to  the  statute  book."  Carpenter's  vast  store  of  legal 
knowledge  could  not  be  justly  described  by  Coke's  estimate 
of  himself.  He  was  familiar  not  only  with  the  rich  princi 
ples  of  the  common  law,  but  with  statutes,  constructions  and 
decisions  generally. 

In  1856,  Judge  Samuel  Ingham,  of  Connecticut,  went  out 
to  Beloit.  He  there  met  Carpenter,  of  whom  he  had  never 
heard.  On  his  return  he  said:  "I  met  in  Beloit  the  most  re 
markable  young  lawyer  I  ever  saw.  I  have  no  doubt  that 
some  day  he  will  be  the  biggest  lawyer  in  the  country.  Oh, 
but  he  is  a  perfectly  immense  man." 

When  Alexander  W.  Randall  was  postmaster-general 
under  President  Johnson,  he  received  a  letter  inquiring  about 
Carpenter  as  a  lawyer,  and  returned  this  beautiful  reply: 

I  only  know  him  at  the  bar,  summing  up  the  most  hopeless  and  complex 
case  with  a  clear  head  and  comprehensive  mind ;  arranging  facts  from  a 
promiscuous  heap,  in  such  admirable  order  that  you  comprehend  all  the 
minutiae;  apprehending  delicate  and  intangible  facts,  and  holding  them  up 
to  view;  drawing  conclusions  that  startle  from  the  very  inflexibility  of  their 
logic;  hurling  contempt  upon  fraud,  and  calling  tears  into  the  eyes  of  all 
by  a  peroration  as  touching  and  eloquent  as  a  slice  of  Cicero  himself!  And 
all  in  one  continuous,  unfaltering  strain  of  fluency,  unmoved  by  a  momen 
tary  bewilderment,  unchecked  by  adverse  ideas,  couched  in  simple  words 
that  leap  from  the  heart  out  of  his  mouth,  and,  with  the  impetus  of  earnest 
ness,  carrying  conviction,  proof  and  demonstration  to  all  who  listen. 

Lucien  B.  Caswell,  who  studied  law  in  Carpenter's  office  and 
subsequently  served  in  congress  with  him  as  a  representative 
from  Wisconsin,  thus  sets  forth  his  professional  character: 

When  I  first  made  his  acquaintance  he  had  practiced  at  his  profession 
only  two  years,  but  he  had  already  gained  a  reputation  and  experience 
seldom  enjoyed  by  others  in  a  half-score  of  years.  He  went,  as  it  were,  to 


1 82  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

the  fountain-head  for  his  law  and  his  style  of  oratory.  When  there,  he 
imbibed  the  ambition  to  rival,  at  some  day,  even  his  instructors.  It  was  the 
pride  of  his  heart  to  be  placed  in  history  by  the  side  of  Choate  and  Webster, 
and  I  believe,  as  I  have  heard  him  say,  while  yet  a  youth,  he  preferred  a  single 
feather  from  the  plume  those  men  wore  to  all  the  wealth  which  human 
hands  could  acquire.  When  he  died  he  owed  nothing  to  the  bench  or  to 
the  bar ;  he  had  not  taken  from,  but  had  added  to,  the  law. 

This  paragraph,  from  Geo.  C.  Hazelton,  who  served  with 
Carpenter  in  congress,  i$  as  full  of  truth  as  it  is  of  emphasis : 

He  became  familiar  with  all  the  authorities  and  the  principles  and  prac 
tice  of  the  civil  and  common  law,  wrth  the  code  and  all  that  pertained  to  it. 
Such  marvelous  facility,  stich  strength  and  practical  knowledge  had  he  ac 
quired  in  the  wide  range  of  his  profession,  that  there  was  no  court  of  justice 
on  earth  whose  adjudications  were  in  the  English  language  before  which  he 
could  not  easily  and  readily  practice.  Lawyers  who  could  do  this  are  few  in 
any  age  or  anv  country.  As  a  trial  lawyer,few  men  ever  held  a  keener  lance ; 
and  in  the  courts  of  final  resort  he  was  welcomed  as  an  oracle  of  the  law. 

David  Davis,  associate  justice  of  the  United  States 
supreme  court,  and  United  States  senator  during  the  most 
brilliant  period  of  Carpenter's  career,  knew  him  before  the 
days  of  his  national  renown.  At  the  memorial  serviges  in 
congress  he  referred  to  that  period  pleasantly: 

Carpenter  was  neither  a  statesmen  nor  a  politician.  He  was  pre-emi 
nently  a  lawyer,  who  may  be  said  at  a  single  bound  to  have  leaped  into 
the  front  rank  of  the  profession  which  he  loved,  and  which  he  honored. 
In  another  sphere,  it  was  my  privilege  to  have  known,  long  before  his  na 
tional  fame  was  achieved,  how  well  he  deserved  distinction,  and  how  cer 
tain  it  was  to  come  with  the  first  opportunity.  He  had  one  of  the  best  and 
clearest  minds  ever  known  in  this  country. 

The  late  Jeremiah  S.  Black,  one  of  the  greatest  lawyers 
on  the  American  continent,  who  loved  and  was  loved  by 
Carpenter  as  a  brother,  gave  him  the  loftiest  niche  in  the 
pinnacle  of  professional  fame: 

To  what  height  his  career  might  have  reached  if  he  had  lived  and  kept 
his  health  another  score  of  years,  can  now  bs  only  a  speculative  question. 
But  when  we  think  of  his  great  wisdom  and  his  wonderful  skill  in  the  fo 
rensic  use  of  it,  together  with  his  other  qualities  of  mind  and  heart,  we  can 
not  doubt  that  in  his  left  hand  would  have  been  uncounted  riches  and 
abundant  honor,  if  only  length  of  days  had  been  given  to  his  right.  As  it 
was,  he  distanced  his  contemporaries  and  became  the  peer  of  the  greatest 
among  those  who  had  started  long  before  him. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

A  SPRINKLING  OF  POLITICS 

Those  who  knew  Carpenter  bear  testimony  that  he  was 
not  a  politician.  There  were  several  reasons  why  he  could 
not  be  a  politician  in  the  popular  acceptation  of  the  term. 
He  was  too  much  of  a  lawyer,  the  honors  of  his  profession 
were  too  dear  to  him,  he  was  too  far  removed  from  secretive- 
ness  and  cunning,  too  outspoken,  too  frank  and  too  impulsive. 
Yet  he  \vas  not  without  ambition. 

He  respected  the  rewards  of  merit  and  great  achievements 
in  all  directions,  but  in  earlier  life  believed  they  could  be 
more  certainly  attained  through  the  profession  of  the  law  — 
by  becoming  influential  before  the  highest  courts  and  an 
expounder  of  the  statutes  and  commandments  of  his  coun 
try  —  than  by  the  devious  methods  and  limitless  trickery  of 
professional  politics.  He  was,  however,  always  an  active 
supporter  of  the  candidates  and  approved  principles  of  his 
party,  and  believed  it  one  of  the  chief  duties  of  citizen 
ship  to  be  informed  in  the  current  affairs  of  government,  and 
to  cultivate  an  interest  in  the  politics  which  creates  and  con 
trols  the  machinery  of  government. 

"  MACHINE  POLITICIANS." 

He  was  once  asked  if  certain  leading  men  to  whom  he  had 
publicly  referred  were  not  "  machine  politicians,"  and  gave 
this  reply,  which  ought  to  ring  perpetually  in  the  ears  of 
every  citizen  of  this  republic: 

I  don't  know  as  I  understand  what  is  meant  by  a  machine  politician.  It" 
it  means  one  who  takes  a  lively  interest  in  the  management  -and  adminis 
tration  of  party  affairs,  attends  caucuses  and  nominating-conventions,  and 
endeavors  to  his  utmost  to  secure  the  success  of  his  party,  then  the  more 
machine  politicians  the  better.  Every  man  ought  to  be  one.  In  this 
country  the  people  govern.  They  make  the  laws,  and  make  and  unmake 
public  men.  Every  one  knows  that  free  institutions  can  only  be  adminis- 


184  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

tered  through  political  organization;  and  every  organization  implies  some 
executive  head,  because  it  is  impossible  for  the  people  en  masse  to  execute 
the  details  of  any  plan  whatever.  This  is  true  of  every  organization  known 
among  men  —  from  the  most  powerful  government  in  the  world  down  to 
a  village  debating  society.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  citizen  to  take  an  inter 
est  and  exercise  his  influence  in  public  affairs,  and  this  he  can  only  do  by 
acting  in  combination  with  others;  or,  in  common  phrase,  uniting  with 
some  political  party.  He  will  of  course  act  with  that  party  which  most 
nearly  represents  and  executes  his  sentiments.  And  then,  believing  that 
his  party  is  in  the  right,  it  is  his  duty  to  do  every  legitimate  thing  in  his 
power  to  secure  its  success,  because  the  success  of  his  party  promotes  that 
line  of  policy  which  he  regards  as  best  for  the  interests  of  the  country. 

In  the  fall  of  1848,  when  Wisconsin,  a  fresh,  new  state, 
was  first  permitted  to  vote  for  presidential  electors,  Car 
penter  addressed  a  public  gathering  in  Beloit  in  advocacy 
of  the  principles  of  democracy  and  the  election  of  Lewis 
Cass.  The  particular  object  of  the  speech  was  to  contro 
vert  certain  theories  put  forth  by  speakers  who  had  pre 
viously  appeared  in  Beloit  in  the  interest  of  Zachary  Taylor 
and  Martin  Van  Buren.  Those  present  were  astonished  at 
the  pungency  and  strength  of  the  young  barrister's  argu 
ment  and  the  elegance  of  his  diction.  The  effort  won  numer 
ous  friends,  even  among  those  who,  constituting  the  majority 
in  Beloit,  did  not  agree  with  his  premises  or  conclusions. 

HIS  FIRST  OFFICE. 

Having,  in  1850,  just  recovered  from  blindness,  and  formed 
a  law-partnership  with  Hazen  Cheney,  it  was  suggested 
that  Carpenter's  business  prospects  would  be  benefited  by 
becoming  a  candidate  for  district  attorney  of  Rock  county. 
Such  an  idea  could  hardly  be  otherwise  than  pleasing  to  a 
man  not  yet  twenty-six  years  of  age,  and  he  fell  in  with  the 
suggestion.  The  plan  was  communicated  to  the  leading 
democrats,  and  being  almost  unanimously  indorsed,  was 
promulgated  and  supported  by  the  Democratic  Standard,  the 
party  newspaper  organ  of  the  county. 

The  convention  was  held  in  Janesville  on  Saturday,  Octo 
ber  19,  1850,  with  closed  doors.  Carpenter,  a  delegate  in 


HIS   FIRST   OFFICE.  185 

the  body,  voted  against  locking  out  not  only  reporters  but 
the  voting  masses,  "as  it  would  afford  the  opposition  press 
such  an  opportunity  to  howl  "  star-chamber  "  as  they  would 
not  fail  to  improve.  He  was  voted  down,  but  his  predictions 
were  amply  verified.  He  was  nominated  on  the  first  formal 
ballot,  and  at  once  entered  upon  an  active  canvass,  with  a 
superabundance  of  spirit  and  enthusiasm,  circulating  through 
the  county  with  great  rapidity,  and,  as  the  returns  show, 
with  equal  effect. 

Levi  Alden,  the  foremost  editor  of  Rock  county  in  that 
day,  accounts  for  Carpenter's  successful  canvass :  "  Matt, 
was  a  mighty  good  fellow,  as  smart  as  lightning,  and  the 
best-looking  young  man  in  the  county.  Everybody  knew 
him  and  everybody  liked  him."  There  were  two  other  can 
didates  for  district  attorney  in  the  field  — Joseph  A.  Sleeper 
(whig)  and  S.  A.  Hudson  (free  soil).  In  Beloit  he  polled 
two  hundred  and  thirty-six  votes,  while  both  the  others 
secured  only  one  hundred  and  seventeen.  In  the  city  of 
Janesville  the  ratio  was  almost  as  favorable;  in  the  towns, 
where  he  was  less  known,  his  majorities  were  less. 

The  office  brought  him  but  $300  per  year  in  cash,1  but  it 
was  worth  something  as  an  advertisement.  There  were  not 
many  cases  in  those  days  for  the  district  attorney,  but  the  few 
that  came  into  his  hands  were  prosecuted  with  such  vigor  and 
ability  as  to  win  the  applause  of  the  press  and  tax-payers. 

In  1852,  Carpenter  supported  Franklin  Pierce,  the  regular 
democratic  nominee  for  President,  making  the  principal 
address  at  the  great  mass-meeting  of  the  Rock  county  de 
mocracy,  held  in  Janesville,  September  6th.  Mr.  Warden, 
secretary  of  the  meeting,  officially  reported:  "Mr.  Carpen 
ter  answered  the  enthusiastic  call  for  him  by  an  animated 
strain  of  eloquence  that  delighted  the  audience  through  the 
entire  address,  and  fired  them  with  the  ardor  of  his  own 
intrepid  soul." 

IThe  board  of  supervisors  in  1852  passed  a  resolution  granting  him  $100, 
as  the  record  divulges,  for  "  incidental  expenses." 


1 86  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

Although  not  a  candidate  for  re-election,  he  nevertheless 
received  about  one-third  of  the  votes  cast  in  the  democratic 
convention  of  1852  for  district  attorney. 

THE  MISSOURI  COMPROMISE. 

There  was  held  at  Mineral  Point,  Wisconsin,  September 
6,  1854,  a  democratic  convention  for  the  purpose  of  nomi 
nating  a  candidate  for  congress  in  the  second  district.  Car 
penter  was  not  a  delegate  to  the  convention  or  to  any  of 
the  primaries,  though  it  was  said  he  was  responsible  for  the 
adoption  by  one  of  the  senatorial  conventions  of  a  set  of 
semi-anti-slavery  resolutions,1  and  was  the  author  of  them. 
He  was  present  at  Mineral  Point  during  the  convention,  and 
advised  that  some  rank  pro-slavery  resolutions  presented  by 
Mr.  Rose  be  laid  on  the  table.  As  the  balloting  for  candi 
dates  progressed,  it  was  discovered  that  he  had  more  than  a 
respectable  following  among  the  delegates,  and  at  one  time 
his  friends  believed  he  would  be  nominated.  On  the 
tenth  formal  ballot,  Ben.  C.  Eastman,  who  was  finally  chosen, 

1  These  are  the  resolutions  imputed  to  Carpenter: 

Resolved,  That  we  are  in  favor  of  an  amendment  to  the  fugitive  slave 
law  of  1850,  giving  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  to  persons  claimed  as  fugitive 
slaves. 

Resolved,  That  the  democracy  of  this  senatorial  district  are  opposed  to 
the  action  of  the  congress  of  the  United  States  in  the  passage  of  the  Ne 
braska  and  Kansas  bill,  by  which  the  Missouri  compromise  of  1820  was  re 
pealed.  For  the  reasons : 

First.  That  the  union  of  the  states  was  preserved  by,  and  has  rested  upon, 
that  compromise  for  thirty-four  years. 

Second.  That  it  opens  to  agitation  the  question  of  the  extension  of  slav 
ery,  where,  by  the  compromise  of  1820,  it  could  not  go. 

Third.  That  being  opposed  to  an  extension  of  slavery  as  a  moral  and 
political  evil,  it  is  an  outrage  on  the  settled  policy  of  the  country  to 
open  the  door  by  which  slavery  can  enter  upon  free  territory. 

Resolved,  That  we  repudiate  the  action  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States  in  opening  the  agitation  of  slavery  in  violation  of  the  resolution  of 
the  late  Baltimore  convention,  and  of  the  doctrine  of  his  inaugural  address 
in  putting  forward  th*  bill  organizing  Nebraska  and  Kansas  and  truckling 
to  the  slave  power. 

Resolved,  That  we  are  opposed  to  the  admission  of  any  more  slave  terri 
tory  into  the  Federal  Union. 


AGAIN    IN    OFFICE.  187 

led  him  by  one  vote  only.  He  was  not  a  candidate,  but  was 
present  as  an  opponent  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  act,  by 
which  territories  were  to  determine  for  themselves  whether 
they  would  admit  slavery. 

AGAIN  IN  OFFICE. 

The  Rock  county  democratic  convention  for  1854  was 
held  in  Janesville  October  nth.  Carpenter  was  a  delegate 
in  it  from  Beloit  and  chairman  of  the  committee  on  creden 
tials.  He  was  unanimously  nominated  for  district  attorney, 
and  in  prosecuting  his  canvass  made  a  speech  at  Janesville 
"  to  democrats,  republicans  and  whigs ;"  also  two  or  three 
addresses  in  other  parts  of  the  county.  The  tide  of  re 
publicanism,  which  had  just  set  in,  was  very  strong  through 
Wisconsin,  and  especially  in  Rock  county,  and  nothing  but 
his  great  personal  popularity  carried  him  through. 

The  county  canvassers  at  first  gave  one  thousand  one 
hundred  and  nine  votes  to  Carpenter,  one  thousand  one  hun 
dred  and  nine  to  G.  B.  Ely,  and  seven  hundred  and  eighty-two 
to  S.  J.  Todd,  the  three  candidates  for  the  office,  but  subse 
quently  threw  out  the  entire  vote  of  the  town  of  Turtle, 
which  gave  the  election  to  Ely.  Carpenter  thereupon,  on 
relation. to  the  attorney-general  of  the  state,  filed  an  informa 
tion  in  the  nature  of  a  quo  ivarranto  with  the  supreme  court. 
The  issue,  inquiring  by  what  warrant  Geo.  B.  Ely  held,  used 
and  enjoyed  the  office  of  district  attorney  of  Rock  county, 
was  sent  to  the  circuit  court  for  trial.  The  jury  found  a 
special  verdict  declaring  the  vote  of  the  town  of  Turtle  was 
thrown  out  without  due  warrant,  that  the  several  votes  cast 
for  D.  M.  H.,  D.  H.,  D.  M.  and  M.  T.  Carpenter  were  in 
tended  for  Matt.  H.  Carpenter,  that  he  was  duly  elected,  and 
that  Ely  was  an  interloper  unlawfully  exercising  the  functions 
of  district  attorney.  On  appeal  by  Ely  to  the  supreme  court 
this  judgment  was  affirmed.  Carpenter  drew  a  full  term's 
pay  for  a  half-term's  service. 

With  this  litigation  a  curious  circumstance  is  connected. 


1 88  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

Ely  had  received  the  certificate  of  election,  filed  his  bond  and 
taken  the  oath  of  office.  To  secure  a  judgment  of  ouster 
Carpenter  must  go  behind  this  certificate.  At  the  same  time 
another,  more  important,  case  was  pending.  W.  A.  Barstow, 
democrat,  had  received  his  certificate  of  election  as  governor. 
Coles  Bashford,  his  opponent,  had  filed  an  information  to 
inquire  by  what  right  Barstow  was  holding  the  office.  Car 
penter  was  engaged  as  one  of  Barstow's  attorneys,  and,  to 
protect  his  client  in  office,  was  compelled  to  argue  that  the 
court  could  not  go  behind  the  certificate  of  the  proper  can- 
vassing-board.  In  his  own  case  he  was  contending  that  the 
court  must  do  exactly  the  opposite.  The  court  held  that  it 
was  proper  and  competent  to  go  behind  the  certificate,  thus 
installing  Carpenter  but  ousting  his  client,  Barstow. 

MENE,  MENE,  TEKEL,  UPHARSIN. 

In  October,  1856,  Carpenter  was  unanimously  re-nominated 
for  district  attorney,  but  promptly  declined,  in  the  following 
characteristic  letter: 

BELOIT,  Oct.  23,  1856. 
To  the  Democrats  of  Rock  County : 

I  am  equally  flattered  and  honored  by  having  received  from  your  late 
county  convention  a  nomination  for  re-election  to  the  office  of  district  at 
torney.  I  may  regard  it  as  an  evidence  of  your  continuing  confidence,  to 
which  I  could  never  be  indifferent. 

This  office  now  requires  that  whoever  would  perform  its  duties  should  be 
able  to  cope  with  the  best  ot  our  lawyers ;  should  be  efficient  and  persever 
ing  as  a  business  man;  and  above  all,  firm  and  independent  in  exercising 
the  powers  reposed  in  him. 

In  view  of  the  importance  of  the  position,  it  is  an  honor  to  receive  your 
support  for  it.  But  I  have  already  held  the  office  two  terms.  I  am  a  dem 
ocrat,  and  as  such,  in  favor  of  rotation,  particularly,  when,  as  in  this  case, 
the  event  is  inevitable.  .You  will,  therefore,  please  accept  my  thanks,  and 
consider  me  out  of  the  ring.  Very  respectfully, 

MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 

Carpenter  could  see  that  the  republicans  would  sweep 
everything,  as  they  subsequently  did ;  hence  the  humor  of  the 
concluding  lines.  But  before  this  declension  was  penned  he 


MENE,   MENE,   TEKEL,   UPHARSIN.  I&p 

had  made  another.  A  large  number  of  the  leading  demo 
crats  of  Iowa,  La  Fayette  and  Grant  counties  united  in  a 
letter  asking  him  to  permit  the  use  of  his  name  in  the  next 
democratic  congressional  convention  to  be  held  at  Mineral 
Point  for  the  second  district.  He  replied* 

BELOIT,  June  26,  1856. 
HON.  SAMUEL  CRAWFORD  and  others : 

Gentlemen  —  I  have  received  jour  communication  requesting  that  my 
name  may  be  presented  by  you  to  our  convention  for  nomination  to  the 
next  congress.  I  am  sensible  of  the  honor  done  me  by  your  request,  and 
am  grateful  for  the  expressions  of  regard  accompanying  it. 

Proud  as  I  should  be  to  receive  your  support;  prouder  still  to  represent 
you,  and  all  the  true  and  gallant-hearted  democracy  of  this  district  in  con 
gress,  a  just  regard  to  my  own  circumstances  and  to  the  claims  of  others 
upon  me,  says  to  ambition,  "be  still;"  and  omnipotent  poverty  commands, 
"  decline." 

You  are  pleased  to  say  I  could  strengthen  the  ticket.  This  is  the  partial 
ity  of  friendship.  There  are  doubtless  many  who  would  receive  greater 
support.  Our  chief  opposition  will  be  in  this  county;  and  I  have  so  often 
and  so  warmly  combated  the  errors  of  the  prevailing  party,  that  they 
would  feel  at  my  nomination  that  fortune  had  given  their  ancient  foe  into 
their  power,  and  they  would  rally  to  a  great  revenge. 

While  I  decline,  I  need  hardly  say  that  any  aid  in  my  power  will  be  most 
cheerfully  rendered  to  our  candidate.  ****** 

We  have  fallen  upon  stormy  times.  The  sharp  sorrows  that  softened  the 
hearts  of  our  fathers,  and  led  them  in  a  spirit  of  concession  and  compro 
mise  to  form  a  government  to  be  clothed  with  only  such  powers  as  con 
cerned  all  the  states  alike,  have  given  place  to  a  prosperity  unknown  to  the 
nation.  We  are  rich  and  powerful ;  unforgiving  and  uncharitable;  and  our 
prosperity  threatens  to  be  our  ruin.  Could  Washington  have  seen  our 
days  and  our  dangers,  as  the  prophetic  eye  of  Moses  read  the  destiny  of  the 
people  he  had  led  to  Jordan's  rippling  stream,  he  could  have  warned  us  in 
language  not  unlike  that  of  the  Jewish  lawgiver:  "Beware.  *  *  * 
When  thou  hast  eaten  and  art  full,  and  hast  built  goodly  houses  and  dwelt 
therein ;  and  when  thy  herds  and  thy  flocks  multiply,  and  thy  silver  and 
thy  gold  is  multiplied,  and  all  that  thou  hast  is  multiplied,  then  thine  heart  be 
lifted  up,  and  thou  forget"  the  union  and  charity  that  brought  thee  through 
tribulation  and  blood  to  peace  and  power. 

All  confess  that  our  country  is  in  danger;  all  acknowledge  the  duty  of 
preserving  it  from  every  danger,  and  to  do  this,  while  the  ship  of  state  is 
tossed  by  the  billows  of  faction,  our  chart  must  be  the  constitution,  our 
motto,  "  our  %vhole  country." 


IpO  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

We  have  been  eminently  fortunate  in  the  selection  of  our  presidential 
candidate,  and  offer  along  with  principles  that  nre  indispensable  to  the 
existence  of  the  republic,  a  champion  known  to  the  whole  country  as  a 
statesman  intelligent,  conservative  and  honest;  and  to  doubt  his  success 
were  to  lose  faith  in  the  intelligence  of  the  people  and  their  devotion  to 
the  land,  and  the  'whole  land  of  Washington. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 

Carpenter  could  see  there  was  no  hope  for  the  election  of 
the  democratic  candidate  in  his  district,  whoever  he  might  be. 
Otherwise,  no  doubt,  he  would  have  accepted  a  nomination. 
There  is  foresight  in  the  preceding  letter.  Its  writer  feared 
the  south  had  ample  power  to  destroy  the  Union,  and  would 
not  hesitate  to  do  it  if  sufficiently  exasperated.  The  leaders 
of  that  section  had  threatened  disunion  if  Fremont  should 
be  elected  and  an  attempt  be  made  to  carry  out  the  princi 
ples  he  represented.  Carpenter  thought  the  Union  with 
slavery  as  permitted  by  the  constitution  preferable  to  dis 
memberment,  fratricidal  strife  and  governmental  chaos. 

His  reference  to  the  ruin  threatened  by  prosperity  was 
more  than  an  ordinary  prophecy.  It  was  literally  fulfilled. 
The  slave  power,  swollen  with  wealth,  grew  in  arrogance 
until  its  leaders  imagined  nothing  could  stand  before  them. 
Then  came  the  earthquakes  and  the  tornadoes  of  the  Rebell 
ion.  As  the  contest  progressed,  many  things  developed  as 
the  policy  of  the  southern  democracy  that  Carpenter  could 
not  indorse.  He  said  "  the  south  was  overreaching  itself, 
the  northern  democrats  were  entirely  submerged,  and  he  had 
little  heart  in  the  battle."  He  only  delivered  one  regular 
address  during  the  campaign,  and  that,  as  the  newspapers 
of  the  day  reported,  was  "just  such  a  speech  as  a  lawyer  with 
an  exceedingly  bad  case  would  be  expected  to  make." 

DODGING  THE  FLOOD. 

On  October  24,  1857,  the  democratic  senatorial  convention 
for  the  district  in  which  Carpenter  resided  gave  him  the 
nomination.  He  declined  in  the  following  odd  letter: 


STEPHEN   A.  DOUGLAS.  Ipl 

BELOIT,  Oct.  25,  1857. 
To  the  Democracy  of  the  iSfh  Senatorial  District : 

I  am  told  by  returning  delegates  from  the  senatorial  convention,  held  at 
Johnstown,  on  the  24th  instant,  that  my  name  was  put  in  nomination  as 
democratic  candidate  for  senator  in  the  next  legislature. 

Nothing  can  be  more  gratifying  to  me  at  any  time  than  the  slightest  ap- 
"probation  of  my  democratic  friends,  and  I  duly  appreciate  this  mark  ot  the 
convention's  esteem.  If  this  nomination  were  a  mere  matter  of  form  and 
my  name  needed  to  keep  up  party  organization,  I  should  not  object.  But 
knowing  that  my  election  -would  be  inevitable  if  I  should  run,  and  as  my 
business  will  not  permit  me  to  be  in  Madison  this  winter,  I  deem  it  my  duty 
to  decline. 

There  is  another  reason  why  I  would  not  allow  myself  to  be  elected 
senator  to  the  next  legislature.  I  expect  the  whole  "  Shanghai  "  party  will 
be  tried  on  impeachment  before  the  next  senate,  and  I  am  conscious  of  so 
much  prejudice  against  them  that  I  could  not,  with  propriety,  sit  as  one  of 
their  judges.  Very  respectfully, 

MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 

This  letter  was  facetious.  Its  writer  distinctly  saw  the 
approaching  tidal  wave  of  republicanism  ("  Shanghaism  ") 
and  shrewdly  kept  out  of  its  path.  Dr.  Alden  I.  Bennett, 
the  republican  nominee  for  state  senator  in  that  district,  re 
ceived  one  thousand  and  seventy  majority.  Anticipating  such 
a  result,  Carpenter  gayly  wrote  that  if  he  should  run  his  elec 
tion  "  would  be  inevitable." 

STEPHEN  A.  DOUGLAS. 

Carpenter  was  always  an  admirer  of  Stephen  A.  Doug 
las.  He  regarded  the  "  Little  Giant "  as  a  far-sighted 
statesman,  an  able  lawyer,  and  above  all  a  man  who,  though 
he  might,  as  all  mortals  do,  fall  into  occasional  errors  of  pol 
icy  and  method,  was  nevertheless  desirous  of  doing  that 
which  would  most  broaden,  strengthen  and  glorify  the  re 
public.  Entertaining,  in  addition  to  these  views,  a  strong 
personal  friendship  for  the  man,  a  favored  son,  like  himself, 
of  the  "  Green  Mountain  State,"  he  rejoiced  when  Douglas 
received  the  democratic  nomination  for  the  presidency  in 
1860. 

He  thought  no  other  democrat  could  avert  civil  war  or 


Ip2  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

postpone  its  frightful  advance  —  for  there  were  none  so  blind 
they  could  not  plainly  discern  the  gathering  storm.  There 
fore,  while  appealing  to  all  to  vote  for  Douglas  as  the  only 
hope  of  averting  an  armed  effort  at  governmental  dismember 
ment,  he  directed  his  efforts  principally  to  mollifying  the  spirit 
of  rebellion,  warning  his  fellow  democrats  that  an  insurrec 
tion  against  the  old  flag  for  no  better  reason  than  the  election 
of  Lincoln,  would  solidify  the  free  states  —  arouse  the  sturdy 
north  to  strike  as  one  man  to  preserve  from  dishonor  the  sa 
cred  blood  of  Yorktown  and  New  Orleans. 

Without  consulting  his  wishes,  the  democratic  state  central 
committee  announced  several  addresses  from  him.  Most  of 
these  he  refused  to  fulfill.  He  was  advertised  by  flaming 
posters  to  address  a  "  grand  mass-meeting  at  Madison,"  but 
failed  to  appear,  and  the  occasion  was  thereafter  dilated  upon 
by  the  republican  press  as  the  "  Mammoth  Cave  at  Madi 
son."  At  Watertown,  on  Monday  evening  preceding  the  day 
of  election,  he  addressed  a  large  meeting.  He  pleaded  for 
the  election  of  Douglas,  but  closed  by  warning' his  audience 
that,  if  the  democrats  of  the  south  should,  in  the  event  of 
Lincoln's  election,  attempt  to  leave  the  Union  and  set  up  a 
slave  empire,  he  "  hoped  to  be  the  first  man  to  raise  a  musket 
in  resistance,  and  should  expect  to  see  every  northern  demo 
crat  by  his  side,  ready  to  fight  for  the  banner  and  the  Union 
of  our  fathers."  This  portion  of  his  speech  did  not  meet  the 
unqualified  approval  of  his  hearers.  Lincoln  was  elected,  as 
he  expected,  and  war  came,  as  he  predicted. 


CQUNTRY,  NOT  PARTY  —  REBELLION.        1 93 

CHAPTER  XX. 

COUNTRY,  NOT  PARTY  -  REBELLION. 

It  was  at  the  outbreak  of  the  great  war  of  the  Rebellion 
that  Carpenter  rose  highest  above  party  fealty,  proclaiming 
that,  when  the  republic  was  in  danger,  there  could,  by  no 
possibility,  be  more  than  one  party  among  patriotic  men  — 
all  must  be  on  the  side  of  their  country.  It  was  then  that 
his  patriotism  and  love  for  the  Union  became  most  conspicu 
ous  —  shone  like  a  beacon,  steady,  bright  and  clear,  far  above 
the  doubts,  deflections,  waverings,  cowardice,  sedition  and 
stormy  turmoil  around  him,  guiding  thousands  safely  into  the 
harbor  of  Union  and  loyalty  who  otherwise  would  have  been 
wrecked  and  lost  amidst  the  surrounding  dangers. 

When  the  hosts  of  the  Rebellion  dashed  up  from  the  south, 
democrat  though  he  professed  to  be,  Carpenter  was  the  first 
man  of  note  in  the  northwest  to  publicly  raise  his  voice  in 
support  of  the  government,  arousing  the  people  as  no  other 
had  ever  before  aroused  them.  He  defended  and  supported 
the  war  measures  of  the  administration,  maintaining  with 
matchless  power  and  thrilling  eloquence  that  the  govern 
ment,  like  a  human  being,  had  the  inalienable  right  to  self- 
preservation,  and  that  all  measures  of  self-defense,  whatso 
ever  their  nature,  must,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  be  right 
and  lawful. 

This  clear  and  simple  doctrine  gathered  at  once  the  scat 
tering  doubters  of  the  republican  party,  won  over  the  patri 
otic  Union  men  of  the  democracy,  dismayed  those  who  were 
arraying  themselves  on  the  side  of  the  rebellious  and  seced 
ing  south,  and  made  Carpenter  the  Moses,  the  war  oracle  of 
his  state.  Not  only  that,  but  it  gave  him  a  hold  upon  the 
heart  and  affection  of  the  people,  which  was  never  destroyed 
by  all  the  subsequent  attack  and  detraction  of  political  oppo 
sition. 


194  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

THE  FIRST  GUN. 

His  first  speech  in  behalf  of  the  Union  was  delivered  in 
Milwaukee  on  the  ipth  of  April,  1861,  on  the  occasion  of 
formally  raising  the  stars  and  stripes  over  the  chamber  of 
commerce  building.  There  were  not  many  flags  in  the 
country  at  the  time  General  Beauregard  fired  upon  Fort 
Sumter,  and  none  in  Milwaukee  for  public  buildings.  The 
commander  of  the  revenue  cutter  then  lying  in  the  harbor 
sent  its  colors  to  be  run  up  over  the  custom-house  tempo 
rarily,  and  the  members  of  the  chamber  of  commerce  voted 
to  purchase  a  fine  national  banner  for  the  flag-staff  on  their 
building.  William  Young  begged  the  committee  appointed 
for  that  purpose  to  make  no  purchase,  as  he  desired  to  pre 
sent  to  the  chamber  a  fine  set  of  colors.  The  offer  was  ac 
cepted,  and  on  the  following  day,  April  ipth,  the  glowing  folds 
of  the  silken  banner  were  thrown  to  the  breeze  in  the  midst 
of  a  vast  concourse  of  people  and  such  enthusiasm  and  dem 
onstrations  of  patriotism  as  no  pen  or  tongue  can  describe. 
Carpenter  delivered  the  dedicatory  speech. 

Unfortunately  nothing  like  a  complete  or  accurate  record 
of  his  utterances  was  made.  It  was  not  a  time  for  record  or 
details.  It  was  a  time  for  action.  No  man  could  curb  his 
rising  passions  for  speech-writing;  he  must  have  the  freedom 
born  of  and  demanded  by  the  inspiring  greatness  of  the  oc 
casion.  He  opened  the  address  as  follows: 

Nearly  forty  years  of  profound  public  tranquillity  have  passed  over  and 
blessed  our  land.  We  have  forgotten  to  use  the  weapons  of  war  and  have 
cultivated  the  arts  of  peace.  We  have  engrossed  our  thoughts  and  enlisted 
our  hearts  in  the  pursuits  of  agriculture,  manufactures  and  commerce,  and 
in  advancing  the  arts  and  sciences  must  useful  to  man.  No  nation  has  been 
so  blessed  —  none  has  so  prospered.  While  we  have  been  thus  improving 
all  our  mutual  interests,  amassing  wealth  at  home  and  accumulating  honors 
abroad,  other  nations  have  been  vexed  and  worried  with  the  "  dogs  of  war;" 
the  war  cloud  has  darkened  the  sunny  sky  of  Italy;  armies  have  trampled 
the  vine-clad  fields  of  France,  and  the  recruiting  drum  has  been  heard  on 
the  green  hills  and  in  the  sweet  valleys  of  merry  England.  It  has  seemed 
that  we  alone  were  to  be  exempt  from  the  terrible  calamities  which  have 


THE   FIRST   GUN. 

desolated  the  hearth  and  wrung  the  heart  in  other  lands.  Our  remote  sit 
uation,  the  circumstances  of  our  nationality,  and  the  habits  of  our  people,  and 
above  all,  our  reverence  for  the  hereditary  policy  of  our  country,  seemed 
sufficient  to  insure  our  continued  peace  and  prosperity.  But  now,  when  we 
were  least  looking  for  it,  our  trial  has  come.  Prosperity  has  debauched 
our  people  and  corrupted  our  government.  We  have  grown  rich,  have 
waxed  fat;  and  as  a  nation  have  become  proud  and  wicked, 

"  Swinish  gluttony 

Ne'er  looks  to  heaven  amid  his  gorgeous  feast, 
But  with  besotted,  base  ingratitude, 
Crams,  and  blasphemes  his  feeder.' 

With  everything  to  fill  the  hearts  of  the  American  people  with  thanks 
to  God  and  love  toward  each  other,  God  has  been  forgotten  and  brother 
is  in  arms  against  brother.  The  union  of  these  states,  to  accomplish 
which  our  fathers  sacrificed  so  much,  and  which  has  been  rendered  sacred, 
as  the  nation  thought,  by  the  efforts  of  statesmen  of  all  grades  of  intellect 
and  every  shade  of  political  sentiment  to  preserve  and  protect,  the  Union 
is  menaced  with  sacrilegious  violence;  and  armies  are  marching  on  Amer 
ican  soil  to  destroy  our  country;  and  our  country's  flag  has  been  displaced 
on  the  battlements  of  a  national  fortress  for  the  treasonable  banner  that 
flouts  the  southern  breeze. 

To  quiet  this  unholy  Rebellion,  to  avenge  this  unendurable  insult  to  our 
national  flag,  our  people  are  rising  as  one  man;  and  every  man  feels  in 
sulted  by  this  insult  to  his  country. 

Secession  is  not  a  remedy  for  evils,  but  is  the  sum  of  all  evils;  it 
is  a  heresy  that  must  be  drowned  in  blood;  it  can  not  be  reasoned 
down ;  and  much  as  we  all  do  and  must  regret  it,  there  is  but  one  of 
two  things  left  us  —  we  must  crush  it  or  it  will  crush  us.  Such  is  the  state 
of  feeling  in  the  south,  that  nothing  but  the  sword  can  remedy  it;  and  it 
becomes  our  duty,  as  good  citizens  and  Christian  men,  to  prosecute  this  war 
so  effectually,  and  end  it  so  speedily,  that  secession  shall  know  no  resurrec 
tion.  The  south,  once  more  reduced  to  obedience,  may  ask  an  amendment 
to  the  constitution,  which  we  may  grant.  In  my  opinion  the  constitution 
of  the  so-called  Southern  Confederacy  has  many  valuable  improvements 
upon  ours;  but  until  this  theory  of  secession  is  extirpated,  of  what  value 
is  any  constitution?  It  is  but  a  contract  to  bind  one  side  —  it  binds  the  faith 
ful  and  obedient,  but  lays  no  obligation  upon  the  mischievous  and  trait 
orous.  Suppose  in  a  reconstruction  of  the  Union,  as  some  talk  about  it, 
it  were  expressed  in  the  new  constitution  that  no  state  should  secede  without 
consent  of  two-thirds  of  the  other  states.  A  sovereign  state  may  as  well 
secede  from  such  a  government  as  from  any  other.  No  constitution  can  be 
formed  which,  with  this  theory  admitted,  can  bind  an  unwilling  state. 
This  creed  is  the  lion  in  the  path  of  our  future  progress  as  a  nation,  and  we 
must  destroy  it  or  it  will  devour  us.  And  no  expenditure  of  blood  or 


Ip6  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

treasure  should  be  spared  to  accomplish  this  result.  Our  prosperity  is 
checked;  our  bright  prospects"  as  a  nation  darkened;  we  must  pass  through 
rivers  of  blood  before  we  again  repose  in  peaceful  fields. 

When  the  end  drew  near,  he  turned  his  glowing  face, 
lighted  by  unusual  fires,  and  stretched  his  hands  toward  the 
glorious  emblem  above  him  and  cried: 

We  hang  out  our  banner  —  no  dusty  rag  representing  the  twilight  of 
seven  stars,  but  the  old  banner  that  has  floated  triumphantly  in  every 
breeze,  the  banner  Decatur  unfurled  to  the  Barbary  States,  that  Jackson 
held  over  New  Orleans,  that  Scott  carried  to  the  hall  of  Montezumas  — 
and  thereby  we  mean  to  say,  in  no  spirit  of  defiance,  but  with  the  firmness 
of  manly  resolution,  this  flag  shall  wave  while  an  American  lives  to  pro 
tect  it.  And  God  grant  it  may  float  over  a  peaceful  land  long  after  the 
followers  of  the  seven  fallen  stars  shall  have  hung  on  gibbets  or  rotted  in 
dungeons. 

No  one  can  read  these  words,  patriotic  and  stirring  as  they 
are  in  themselves,  and  form  a  conception  of  how  they 
throbbed  and  burned  under  the  marvelous  power  of  Carpen 
ter's  earnest  eloquence,  or  how  they  lifted  the  vast  concourse 
of  people  to  the  highest  tense  of  patriotism,  and  then  swept 
them,  like  the  sea  by  a  storm,  into  a  tumult  of  wild  enthusi 
asm.  No  one  who  wras  present  ever  forgot  the  occasion,  or 
how  Carpenter's  magic  words  carried  all  to  that  point  where 
they  were  ready  to  devote  any  sacrifice  to  their  country. 

On  Monday,  April  I5th  —  four  days  before  the  delivery  of 
this  address  —  an  informal  war  meeting  was  held  in  Milwau 
kee  at  which  brief  remarks  were  made  by  a  score  of  leading 
citizens.  Carpenter  was  absent  from  the  city,  having  gone 
to  Walworth  county  upon  legal  business;  but  he  sent  this 
telegram,  quoting  from  Richard  III  before  the  decisive  bat 
tle  of  Bos  worth  field :  "  I  was  unable  to  leave  here  to-day, 
but  I  am  with  you  in  spirit.  *  My  soul's  in  arms  and  eager 
for  the  fray.' " 

On  his  way  from  Walworth  county  the  train  halted  at 
Waukesha.  A  crowd  at  the  depot,  observing  Carpenter, 
demanded  a  speech.  He  appeared  on  the  platform  and  said : 

Now  that  war  is  begun,  push  it  to  the  bitter  end.  Let  nothing  be  left 
undone.  Strike  your  blows  thick  and  fast;  leave  nothing  to  chance.  The 


WELCOMING   THE   MINUTE-MEN.  197 

only  forties  are  unionists  and  disunionists.  I  belong  to  the  former, 
thank  God.  All  others  are  my  enemies,  and  the  enemies  of  our  common 
country.  We  must  fight  them,  not  only  abroad  but  at  home. 

WELCOMING  THE  MINUTE-MEN. 

Thereafter,  in  private  conversation,  by  interjections  in  his 
legal  arguments  before  the  courts,  and  in  every  possible  man 
ner,  Carpenter  made  his  influence  felt  in  favor  of  the  admin 
istration  and  the  Union.  His  most  particular  efforts  were 
directed  toward  wavering  democrats,  with  whom  he  pleaded: 
"There  is  no  democracy  now;  no  true  patriot  can  cling  to 
the  tenets  of  his  party  when  his  country  is  in  danger.  We 
must  all  be  for  the  Union."  Whilst  thus  engaged  in  a  pri 
vate  manner  in  strengthening  the  federal  cause,  there  arose 
no  occasion  for  any  other  public  speech  until  the  return  of 
the  First  Wisconsin  regiment. 

At  about  noon  on  Saturday,  August  17, 1861,  forty  coach 
loads  of  the  first  soldiers  who  left  Wisconsin  for  the  war 
(ninety-day  men)  were  welcomed  home  to  Milwaukee  by 
the  firing  of  cannons,  a  monster  procession,  a  speech  from 
Carpenter  and  a  grand  banquet  spread  by  the  ladies.  All 
business  was  suspended,  and  the  surrounding  country  poured 
in  thousands  of  visitors.  The  city  was  crowded  with  peo 
ple  eager  to  do  homage  to  their  country's  defenders.  After 
the  parade,  the  soldiers  and  their  friends  repaired  to  Camp 
Scott,  where  Carpenter  delivered  the  welcoming  address. 
In  it  he  advocated  freeing  or  capturing  the  slaves,  and 
aroused  the  democracy.  A  few  extracts  should  be  quoted: 

I  come  in  behalf  of  the  loyal  and  patriotic  people  of  Milwaukee  to  welcome 
home  the  First  Wisconsin  regiment. 

Called  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  defend  the  menaced 
government  under  which  we  were  born,  and  under  which  God  grant  we 
and  our  children  may  live  and  die,  you  cheerfuly,  almost  instantly,  laid 
aside  the  profitable  pursuits  of  private  life,  left  business  to  take  care  of  it 
self,  bade  farewell  to  home  and  friends,  and  hastened  to  throw  yourselves 
between  our  country  and  its  traitorous  assailants.  You  knew  very  well 
that  the  holiday  of  soldiering  was  over,  that  you  were  invited  to  no  frolic 
feast,  no  national  pageant;  but  to  the  field  where  Americans  would  contend 


LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

with  Americins  in  a  nobler,  holier  cause  than  ever  marshaled  Greek 
against  Greek. 

But  with  the  joy  and  pride  of  this  occasion  there  mingles  the  chastening 
sorrow  that  you  are  not  all  here.  Some  who  went  forth  have  not  returned. 
George  Drake  is  mustered  with  the  hosts  that  learn  war  no  more;  and  his 
poor  mother  has  learned  that  even  widowhood  can  be  rendered  more  cheer 
less  and  desolate.  With  a  grief  which  only  a  mother  can  know,  we  may 
not  interfere;  but  we  can  offer  to  her  the  consolation  that  of  old  soothed 
the  hearts  of  the  Roman  matrons,  her  son  fell  with  his  face  to  the  foe. 
And  when  the  turmoils  of  this  wicked  Rebellion  shall  have  subsided,  the 
people  of  Wisconsin  ought  to  rear  a  monument  of  marble  to  George  Drake, 
her  first  martyr  in  the  war  we  are  waging  for  national  existence. 

In  this  interval  between  the  return  of  the  First  and  the  departure  of  the 
Seventh  and  Eighth  Wisconsin  regiments,  we  naturally  pause  and  ask  our 
selves,  what  are  the  ends  and  aims  of  this  war?  Is  it  a  war  fought  for  par 
tisan  purposes,  for  private  and  selfish  ends?  or,  is  it  a  war  for  God,  our 
country  and  truth?  If  in  this  struggle  we  fall,  do  we  fall  "  blessed  martyrs" 
or  do  we  fall  the  just  victims  of  an  unholy  ambition? 

This  is  an  important  question ;  and  we  ought  to  examine  the  matter  hon 
estly  and  thoroughly.  Patriots  may  say,  "Our  country,  right  or  wrong;  " 
but  in  this  enlightened  age  the  moral  force  necessary  to  success  is  in  the 
thought  that  our  country  is  right. 

This  a  question  above  all  party  politics.  We  should  forget  that  we  were 
ever  separated  by  party  lines.  In  this  emergency  we  are  all  republicans, 
all  democrats,  all  Americans.  Perish  every  party  distinction,  watch-word 
and  organization,  save  LIVE  OUR  COUNTRY! 

We  are  struggling,  fighting,  dying,  to  maintain  the  government  our 
fathers  established  for  themselves  and  their  posterity  forever. 

And  all  this  for  what?  and  why?  Because  slavery  is  sick  with  surfeit 
ing,  and  pants  for  fresh  fields  for  her  ambitious  schemes.  Tolerated,  yes 
protected^  by  the  constitution  as  an  existing  evil  too  deep  for  immediate 
eradication,  slavery  has  grown  deeper  and  deeper  in  its  foundations,  and 
higher  and  higher  in  its  pretensions,  undermining  the  strength  and  sapping 
the  power  of  the  constitution,  until  at  length  it  feels  itself  stronger  than 
the  government,  and  turns  its  destructive  and  poisonous  fangs  upon  the 
constitution  under  which  it  has  grown  to  such  fearful  greatness.  This 
black  specimen  of  the  reptile  genus,  warmed  into  life  in  our  bosoms,  now 
rears  its  scaly  crest  to  wage  a  war,  in  which  it  may  be  that  it  or  we  must 
perish. 

The  Revolution  could  have  been  stifled  at  its  b'rth  by  a  very  little  grace 
ful  concession  on  the  part  of  the  British  crown.  The  colonies  sought  onljr 
for  a  redress  of  grievances,  and  would  gladly  have  accepted  such  favor  and 
returned  to  their  obedience.  This  the  crown  denied;  and  the  colonies 
could  not  win  the  result  they  contended  for  without  shaking  the  power  of 


PARTY   VS.    PATRIOTISM.  Ip9 

the  mother  country  to  its  foundation.  Before  the  colonies  had  achieved  the 
long-sought-for  redress  of  grievances  they  had  achieved  their  total  inde 
pendence.  Can  the  south  learn  nothing  from  the  lessons  of  history?  Or 
has  God  decreed  the  destruction  of  slavery,  and  does  he  purpose  to  accom 
plish  it  through  the  folly  and  madness  of  slave-holders? 

If  the  south  expects  that  we  are  much  longer  to  fight  this  war  with  kid 
gloves,  much  longer  to  send  armies  to  the  south  strictly  watched  to  see 
they  do  not  much  injure  the  south,  she  is  sadly  mistaken.  The  powers  that 
be  may  say  so;  wish  so;  but  the  rising  determination  of  the  north,  the  ab 
solute,  imperious  necessities  of  self-existence,  are  impelling  things  forward, 
where  secretaries  of  war  and  smooth-faced  officials  can  not  stop  the  course 
of  events  by  crying,  "Respect  all  the  rights  of  southern  property." 

If  this  state  of  things  shall  be  long  continued  on  the  part  of  the  south, 
armies  will  march  in  that  direction  with  the  express  purpose  of  injuring- 
the  south.  This  Rebellion  was  not  begun  in  strict  conformity  with  the  con 
stitution,  and  the  south  may  find  that  there  is  an  unconstitutional  way  to 
suppress  it.  The  south  is  carrying  on  a  war  that  violates  every  principle 
of  gratitude  and  of  fealty,  every  oath  and  sanction  of  religion,  and  yet  calls 
out  to  the  north,  "  Now,  remember  your  Christian  principles;  remember 
your  oath  to  support  the  constitution,  and  protect  our  rights;"  but  the 
south  may  find  that,  like  the  Methodist  in  the  fight,  ivc,  too,  have  fallen 
from  grace.  ******** 

Liberty  is  involved  in  this  struggle.  This  last,  best  effort  of  self-govern 
ment  must  not  perish  thus.  But  we  have  work,  -work  before  us.  South 
erners  are  not  Mexicans,  will  not  run  at  a  yell  —  they,  too,  are  Americans 
and  have  Washington  among  their  fathers.  They  are  foemen  worthy  of  our 
steel,  and  foes  that  richly  deserve  our  steel. 

This  speech  was  enthusiastically  received  by  the  soldiers, 
and  General  John  A.  Starkweather,  their  commander,  said  it 
was  the  means  of  securing  a  large  number  of  re-enlistments 
that  he  thought  would  otherwise  have  been  lost.  That  is  a 
tribute  that  can  not  often  be  paid  to  the  power  of  oratory. 

PARTY  vs.  PATRIOTISM. 

But  the  copperheads  of  Wisconsin  spewed  out  the  speech 
and  reviled  its  author.  They  attacked  Carpenter  through 
the  columns  of  the  press  and  by  private  letters.  Some  of 
the  ultra  newspapers  formally  read  him  out  of  the  democratic 
party,  and  leading  democrats  wrote  to  him  that  he  was  de- 


2OO  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

stroying  democracy.     To  one  distinguished  protester,  Isaac 
Woodle,  of  Janesville,  he  made  this  memorable  reply 

MILWAUKEE,  Sept.  2,  1861 
ISAAC  WOODLE  : 

Dear  Sir  —  I  have  received  your  favor  in  regard  to  my  speech  to  the 
.First  regiment,  and  have  read  it  with  great  surprise.  Nothing  could  pain 
me  more  than  to  learn  that  the  sentiments  and  opinions  there  expressed 
separate  me  in  the  least  degree  from  the  democratic  party.  Especially 
should  I  regret  to  have  my  political  friends  in  Rock  county  think  I  have 
abandoned  one  principle  for  which  we  have  contended;  and  I  am  per 
suaded  that  a  little  reflection  will  satisfy  you  and  them  that  such  is  not 
the  case. 

The  first  principle  of  democracy  has  been,  and  is,  devotion  to  our  whole 
-country  and  fidelity  to  the  constitution  of  the,  United  States  in  every  par 
ticular.  Compared  with  this  all  other  things  are  to  be  held  as  naught;  and 
even  the  organization  of  the  democratic  party  —  a  party  that  has  shown 
itself  capable  of  administering  the  general  government,  because  it  has  ever 
sympathized  with  the  principles  on  which  it  is  founded  —  should  be  cheer 
fully  abandoned  for  the  present,  if  that  be  necessary,  to  preserve  intact  the 
government  our  fathers  constructed  for  us.  The  sorrowing  song  of  Judea 
is  the  language  of  every  true  patriot  "remembering  "  his  native  land: 

"  Let  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth 
If  I  prefer  not  Jerusalem  above  my  chief  joy" 

You  say  some  of  my  friends  think  that  my  speech  verges  upon  repub 
licanism,  not  to  say  abolitionism,  in  the  method  it  hints  at  for  prosecuting 
the  war.  This  remark  shows,  does  it  not,  that  we  are  still  thinking  of  party, 
when  we  should  be  thinking  only  of  country.  The  question  is  not  whether 
a  certain  line  of  conduct  will  please  an  abolitionist,  but  whether  it  will  save 
the  government.  No  two  men  can  differ  upon  this  proposition,  that  we  have 
a  terrible  war  upon  our  hands.  How  are  we  to  manage  it?  I  do  hope  that 
in  this  terrible  crisis  of  our  country  the  democrats  will  be  found,  as  they 
have  been,  on  the  side  of  their  country  against  all  assailants;  they  must 
not  hesitate,  not  falter,  for  ruin  will  be  the  consequence.  We  must  say  of 
whoever  is  for  upholding  the  constitution  and  preserving  this  union  of 
states  against  open  and  secret  enemies,  he  is  my  brother.  We  must  look 
this  war  honestly  in  the  face.  We  can  not  protect  ourselves  and  save  our 
country  with  cunning  tricks,  nor  suppress  this  insurrection  with  a  false 
hood.  We  must  strike  home  to  the  rebels;  hit  them  on  their  tenderest 


But  it  may  be  asked,  how  can  a  democrat,  who  through  all  the  last  cam 
paign  opposed  Lincoln  upon  the  ground  that  his  election  would  plunge  the 


PARTY   VS.    PATRIOTISM.  2OI 

country  into  war,  now  counsel  a  conduct  of  the  war  that  most  delights  these 
very  republicans  who  have  provoked  it? 

This  question  is,  to  my  mind,  very  easily  answered.  In  the  last  campaign 
we  all  believed  that  the  people  of  the  south  were  honest  in  professing  their 
fear  for  the  safety  of  slavery  if  Lincoln  should  be  elected,  and  that,  if  so  ex 
asperated,  they  would  take  up  arms.  It  is  perhaps  impossible  to  determine, 
and  it  is  immaterial,  whether  the  south  was  honest  in  that  pretense  or  not. 
It  must  be  confessed  that  there  are  many  reasons  for  believing  that  the 
southern  leaders  desired  a  dissolution  of  the  Union  upon  other  grounds,  and 
that  they  would  have  made  the  effort  of  treason  if  Lincoln  had  been  de 
feated.  Their  treatment  of  Douglas  at  Charleston,  the'r  conduct  in  the 
campaign,  their  undisguised  preference  for  Lincoln's  election  over  Douglas, 
can  be  explained  upon  no  other  hypothesis.  The  northern  democrats 
treated  the  south  as  a  father  does  a  sickly  son.  We  sought  to  avoid  a  row; 
we  did  not  think  the  election  of  Lincoln  would  justify  the  south  in  rebel 
ling,  but  we  feared  it  would  have  that  effect.  Therefore  we  sought  to  avoid 
the  struggle  by  preventing  what  we  feared  would  cause  it.  We  labored 
faithfully,  but  were  defeated,  and  the  influence  of  the  south  tended  to  that 
result.  We  were  defeated  in  consequence  of  our  fidelity  to  what  we  be 
lieved  the  just  rights  of  the  south,  under  the  constitution;  and  the  south, 
which  might  by  constitutional  means  have  rendered  Mr.  Lincoln's  admin 
istration  powerless  for  harm,  scorned  peaceful  security,  and  flew  to  arms. 
A  more  disgraceful  act  of  ingratitude  is  not  recorded  in  history.  The 
democrats  of  the  north  had  for  years  defended  southern  rights,  at  the  ex 
pense  of  popularity  and  place  at  home ;  we  had,  for  adhering  to  their  cause, 
been  driven  from  office  in  every  northern  state ;  and  the  first  time  that  the 
consequence  of  their  conduct  was  visited  upon  them,  as  well  as  upon  us,  they 
rebelled.  Northern  democrats  then  firmly  resolved  that  the  Rebellion  should 
be  put  dotun,  and  the  government  sustained. 

Did  we  mean  what  we  said,  or  not?  I  take  it  ive  did.  If  so,  all  the  old 
issues  are  to  be  forgotten.  We  must  "  leave  the  dead  past  to  bury  its  dead ; " 
and  we  have  but  one  question  before  us  now:  How  can  this  Rebellion  be  most 
speedily  and  most  effectually  crushed'?  We  have  nothing  to  do  with  repub 
licanism  or  abolitionism ;  we  have  simply  to  choose  the  readiest  means  to 
a  wished-for  end. 

Mr.  Secretary  Smith  in  a  recent  speech  sa}rs: 

"The  theory  of  this  government  is  that  the  states  are  sovereign  within 
their  proper  sphere.  THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  HAS  NO 

MORE  RIGHT  TO  INTERFERE  WITH  THE  INSTITUTION  OF  SLAVERY  in  South 

Carolina,  than  it  has  to  interfere  with  the  peculiar  institutions  of  Rhode 
Island,  whose  benefits  I  have  enjoyed  to-day.  It  is  not  the  province  of  the 
government  of  the  United  States  to  enter  into  a  crusade  against  the  institution 
of  slavery.  I  would  proclaim  to  the  people  of  all  the  states  of  the  Union  the 
right  to  manage  their  institutions  in  their  oivn 


2O2  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

Well,  to  every  word  of  this,  of  course,  everybody  subscribes.  But  does 
Mr.  Smith  think  that  he  solves  the  great  question  that  lies  at  the  gate  of 
the  government  by  these  trite  commonplaces?  It  is  not  the  province  of  the 
government  to  enter  into  a  crusade  against  slavery ;  but  I  take  it  to  be  the 
undoubted  province  of  the  government  to  maintain  its  authority  in  every 
state  by  any  and  all  necessary  means ;  and  when  a  state  is  in  rebellion,  to 
reduce  it  to  obedience  in  the  most  summary  way ;  and  if  this  can  only  be 
done  by  sweeping  away  slavery,  then  it  is  the  province  of  this  government 
and  its  boundcn  duty  to  sweep  slavery  aivay. 

The  most  favorable  view  of  the  matter  is  to  treat  the  south  as  an  inde 
pendent  power  at  war  with  us.  This  the  revolted  states  claim  to  be,  and 
they  ought  to  thank  us  for  treating  them  accordingly.  And  everybody 
knows  that  if  such  were  the  case  we  should  be  justified  by  the  laws  of  na 
tions  in  despoiling  them  of  their  property ;  and  at  the  south  slaves  are  prop 
erty.  Grotius  (the  father  of  international  law)  says,  book  3,  chapter  5,  sec 
tion  i  (edited  by  Whewell j :  "  Cicero  says  it  is  not  against  nature  to  despoil 
him  whom  it  is  honorable  to  kill.  Wherefore,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at, 
if  the  laws  of  nations  permit  the  property  of  enemies  to  be  destroyed  and 
ravaged,  when  it  has  permitted  them  to  be  killed.  Polybius  says  that  by 
the  laws  of  war  all  munitions  of  the  enemy,  ports,  cities,  men,  ships,  fruits, 
and  everything  of  like  kind,  may  be  either  plundered  or  destroyed.  And 
in  Livy  we  read :  There  are  certain  rights  of  war  which  may  be  exercised  and 
must  be  submitted  to;  as  to  burn  crops,  to  destroy  buildings,  to  drive  off 
booty  of  cattle  and  men"  Again,  in  book  3,  chapter  6,  he  speaks  "of  the 
right  of  acquiring  things  captured  in  ivar"  Section  5,  he  says :  "  Those 
things  are  supposed  to  be  taken  from  the  enemy  which  are  taken  from  his 
subjects."  Burlamaqui,  volume  2,  chapter  7,  says:  "  I.  As  to  the  goods  of 
an  enemy,  it  is  certain  that  the  state  of  war  permits  us  to  carry  them  off,  to 
ravage,  to  spoil,  or  even  entirely  to  destroy  them."  Again,  section  2 :  "  This 
right  of  spoil  or  plunder  extends  in  general  to  all  things  belonging  to  the 
enemy,  and  the  law  of  nations,  properly  so-called,  does  not  exempt  even 
sacred  things"  This  last  quotation,  "sacred  things"  embraces  precisely 
what  some  seem  to  think  slavery  is. 

This  is  the  undoubted  law  of  nations,  and  is  daily  acted  on  by  inde 
pendent  powers  at  war  with  each  other.  I  am  not  aware  that  it  has  ever 
been  claimed  for  rebels  that  they  were  entitled  to  a  more  tender  treatment 
than  the  law  of  nations  prescribes  to  public  enemies. 

The  first  diplomatic  note  addressed  by  this  government  to  any  foreign 
power,  written  by  Thomas  Jefferson,  complained  that  the  British  army  had 
carried  away  slaves  belonging  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States ;  not 
that  the  carrying  away  of  slaves  was  an  improper  act  of  war,  but  that  they 
had  been  carried  away  after  the  treaty  of  peace  had  been  signed,  and  in 
direct  violation  of  the  yth  article  of  that  treaty.  Not  only  would  the  gov 
ernment  be  justified  in  capturing  slaves  in  the  south,  but  by  the  familiar 


PARTY   VS.   PATRIOTISM.  203 

principles  of  national  law  they  are  contraband  of  war;  in  which  (if  the 
slave-trade  were  lawful)  neutrals  could  not  traffic  with  the  south.  Articles 
peculiarly  subservient  to  war,  without  which  the  enemy  could  not  carry  on 
the  war,  or  which  enable  him  to  carry  it  on  at  great  advantage  over  his  an 
tagonist,  are  contraband.  See  Vattel,  Law  of  Nations,  book  3,  chapter  7,  sec 
tion  112,  and  Bynkershock  on  War,  chapter  10. 

Now,  whether  slaves  are  subservient  to  war,  and  put  the  south  on  a  su 
perior  footing  to  us,  let  the  south  speak  for  herself.l 

The  method  heretofore  employed  in  prosecuting  this  war  has  carried  to 
every  secessionist  a  home  market  for  whatever  our  troops  have  needed  in 
that  state.  We  have  paid  twice  its  value  in  coin  for  everything,  including 
damages  for  trampling  down  crops.  The  coin  we  pay  out  is  instantly  ex 
changed  for  Southern  Confederacy  bonds,  and  finds  its  way  into  the  treas 
ury  of  secession,  to  equip  rebel  armies.  They  can  stand  such  a  war  easier 
than  we  can,  and  perhaps  longer.  The  war  has  been  a  source  of  profit  to 
the  rebels,  and  expense  only  to  the  loyals. 

The  wickedness  of  this  revolt  has  no  parallel;  and  the  government 
would  be  justified  in  employing  the  most  stringent  means  to  suppress  it. 
It  has  coaxed  and  caressed  long  enough  to  see  that  the  people  of  the  south 
are  not  inclined  to  lay  down  their  arms  as  a  matter  of  politeness.  No  ap 
peal  to  their  reason,  their  justice  or  their  loyalty  can  avail,  for  they  seem  to 
have  neither.  Now  let  them  be  pursued  and  hunted  with  fire  and  sword, 
with  halter  and  confiscation,  until  they  return  to  their  obedience  to  the  con 
stitution  and  the  laws,  and  then,  and  not  before,  can  they  claim  to  hold 
their  slaves  under  the  constitution. 

When  they  permit  peace,  they  can  claim  the  rights  of  peace ;  but  they 
can  not  insist  that  we  shall  guaranty  to  them  all  the  benefits  of  peace 
•while  they  are  visiting  upon  us  all  the  horrors  of  war.  Suppose  we  march 
an  army  into  the  rebeLstates,  and  capture  slaves,  who  is  to  complain  of  it? 
The  loyal  states  will  not;  the  rebel  states  can  not.  They  have  forced  a  state  of 
war  upon  us,  and  now  must  take  the  legitimate  consequences,  one  of  which 
I  have  shown  this  to  be.  The  right  of  the  master  to  hold  his  slave  under 
the  constitution  is  admitted  as  a  civil  right;  but  when  he  throws  off  the 
constitution  and  levies  war  against  it,  how  absurd  it  is  to  say  that  he  may, 
nevertheless,  turn  the  constitution  against  itself,  and  make  it  protect  him 

1  Reference  is  had  to  the  Alabama  Advertiser^  which  declared:  "The  in 
stitution  of  slavery  in  the  south  alone  enables  her  to  place  in  the  field  a 
force  much  larger  in  proportion  to  her  white  population  than  the  north,  or 
indeed,  than  any  country  which  is  dependent  entirely  on  free  labor.  The 
institution  is  a  tower  of  strength  to  the  south,  particularly  in  the  present 
griefs,  and  our  enemies  will  be  likely  to  find  that  the  '  moral  cancer,'  about 
which  their  orators  are  so  fond  of  prating,  is  really  one  of  the  most  effective 
weapons  employed  against  them  by  the  south? 


2O4  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

while  he  destroys  it.     This  makes  the  constitution  give  aid  and  comfort  to 
its  own  enemies;  makes  it  contribute  to  its  own  destruction. 

The  cry  of  our  northern  press,  that  this  war  must  be  so  fought  as  to  respect 
the  rights  which  southern  citizens  would  enjoy  under  the  constitution  if  they 
were  at  peace  with  it,  is  treason.  It  is  giving  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemies 
of  our  country.  Enemies,  not  in  a  very  rhetorical  sense,  as  we  bandy 
words  on  the  stump,  but  enemies  in  arms,  and  whose  artillery  is  trained  on 
the  federal  capitol.  Every  word  spoken  to  protect  the  rights  of  a  rebel  is 
a  word  spoken  to  weaken  the  government  by  narrowing  the  means  which 
the  government  has  of  reducing  him  to  obedience.  I  must  confess  I  am 
tired  and  sick  of  it;  and  if  I  can  not  denounce  it  inside  the  democratic  party, 
/  am  ready  to  go  out. 

It  is  said  this  will  drive  Kentucky  out  of  the  Union.  Kentucky's  greatest 
living  son,l  in  a  recent  speech  in  Boston,  says : 

u  Fellow-citizens,  I  am  gratified  to  say  that  during  the  somewhat  extended 
tour  that  I  have  just  made,  I  have  nowhere  found  the  public  voice  faint,  or 
the  public  purpose  faltering,  in  reference  to  the  vigorous  prosecution  of  this 
war,  until  the  stars  and  stripes  shall  float  from  every  flag-staff  from  which 
they  have  been  torn.  Nowhere  have  I  heard  the  word  compromise  —  a 
word  which  can  now  be  uttered  only  by  disloyal  lips,  or  by  those  openly  and 
directly  in  the  interests  of  the  Rebellion.  So  long  as  the  rebels  have  arms  in 
their  hands,  there  is  nothing  to  compromise  —  nothing  but  the  honor  of  the 
country,  and  the  integrity  of  the  government;  and  who,  but  him  who  is 
ready  to  fill  a  coward's  grave,  is  prepared  for  such  humiliation  as  this?" 

How  favorably  the  loyal  language  of  this  eloquent  extract  contrasts  with 
the  halting,  fault-finding,  treason-aiding  tone  of  a  portion  of  the  northern 
press.  If  such  are  the  sentiments  of  Kentucky,  then  she  will  not  go  out 
of  the  Union  because  the  government  distinguishes  between  its  friends  and 
its  foes.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  Kentucky  is  disloyal  and  rotten,  is  hypo 
critically  remaining  in  the  Union  as  Virginia  did,  till  she  was  smoked  out,  for 
the  purpose  of  controlling  the  policy  of  the  government  for  the  benefit  of 
southern  traitors,  then  the  quicker  she  goes  the  better;  we  should  have  less 
to  fear  from  her  as  an  open  enemy  than  as  a  false  friend. 

Pardon  so  long  a  letter,  but  I  could  not  more  briefly  discuss  the  matter. 
I  believe  what  I  have  contended  for  is  true,  and  I  have  great  confidence  in 
truth.  Very  truly  yours, 

MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 

This  splendid  epic  was  unanswerable.  It  soon  found  its 
way  into  print,  and  flew  like  the  wind  to  all  quarters  of  the 
loyal  Union,  and  was  published  prominently  in  every  Union 
paper  in  the  north.  It  carried  dismay  into  the  ranks  of  the 

l  John  J.  Crittenden. 


GOING  TO   ENLIST. 

obstructionists,  and  crashed  through  the  sophistries  of  the 
copperhead  democracy  like  a  cannon-ball  through  a  paper 
fortress.  It  was  a  lodestar  for  thousands  who  were  patri 
otic  and  loyal  at  heart,  but  who  were  mentally  at  a  loss  to 
know  precisely  what  was  their  duty  under  the  new  and  un 
tried  circumstances. 

It  strengthened  the  administration,  stiffened  the  democratic 
northern  soldiery,  and  carried  increased  fire  and  patriotism 
to  all  loyal  hearts.  Judge  Levi  Hubbell  sent  a  copy  of  it  to 
the  President.  Secretary  Welles  declared  "it  came  like  a 
clear  ray  of  light  through  the  surrounding  gloom."  It 
pointed  out,  ahead  of  all  contemporaneous  statesmen,  that 
the  Rebellion  could  never  be  crushed  so  long  as  slavery  re 
mained  intact,  and  our  armies  were  forbidden  to  capture  or 
disturb  colored  bondmen  —  a  doctrine  that  was,  after  a  year 
of  disastrous  delay,  fully  concurred  in  and  acted  upon  by  the 
administration. 

GOING  TO  ENLIST. 

Carpenter  now  proposed  to  enlist  as  a  soldier,  but  his 
friends  protested  that  he  could  not  be  spared;  that  on  the 
field  of  battle  he  could  bear  but  one  musket  and  would 
count  but  one  among  the  slain,  while  at  home,  his  logic,  his 
patriotic  earnestness  and  his  inspired  eloquence  made  him  a 
host  at  the  recruiting  meetings  —  a  victorious  army  wherever 
he  went  among  the  people.  His  reply  was  characteristic: 
"  I  have  done  a  great  deal  of  talking,  all  that  is  required,  I 
think.  The  people  must  understand  the  matter  pretty  thor 
oughly  by  this  time,  and  I  notice  that  Uncle  Abe  don't  call 
for  two  hundred  thousand  more  talkers,  he  wants  fighters"'' 

He  then  went  to  the  office  of  the  examining  surgeon,  who 
pronounced  him  physically  unfit  to  bear  arms.  That  sent 
him  back  among  the  people,  addressing  mass-meetings  every 
where.  Not,  however,  until  he  had  hired  a  substitute,  for 
$800,  who  served  through  the  war.  What  could  be  more 
patriotic?  He  was  not  subject  to  draft  nor  acceptable  as  a 
volunteer. 


206  LIFE   OF  CARPENTER. 


DECLINING  CONGRESSIONAL  HONORS. 

On  the  nth  of  September,  1862,  the  republican  convention 
for  the  first  congressional  district  of  Wisconsin  met  at  Ra 
cine  and  nominated  John  F.  Potter  (since  famous  under  the 
sobriquet  of  "  Bowie-Knife  "  Potter,  from  choosing  bowie- 
knives  to  fight  a  duel  with  Roger  A.  Pryor)  for  congress. 
Some  favored  the  nomination  of  other  candidates,  and  some 
thought  that  under  the  stormy  circumstances  there  should 
have  been  no  partisan,  but  a  Union  nomination.  Conse 
quently  a  call,  signed  by  a  large  number  of  prominent  citi 
zens,  asking  Carpenter  to  become  an  independent  Union 
candidate,  was  sent  to  him.  He  made  reply: 

MILWAUKEE,  September  15,  1862. 

MESSRS.  DAVID  FERGUSON,  WILLIAM  B.  HIBBARD,  JAMES  B.  CROSS,  C. 
K.  MARTIN,  S.  T.  HOOKER,  JOHN  G.  INBUSCH,  F.  S.  ILSLEY,  LEVI 
HUBBELL,  D.  A.  J.  UPHAM,  T.  C.  TROWBRIDGE,  EDWARD  SANDERSON, 
EMANUEL  FRIEND,  JOHN  T.  WENTWORTH,  O.  S.  HEAD,  LYNDSEY 
WARD,  and  others: 

Gentlemen  —  With  lively  gratitude  for  the  confidence  reposed,  I  have  to 
acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  call  requesting  me  to  become  a  candidate 
for  representative  in  congress. 

In  peace  parties  may  be  beneficial,  but  in  war  there  should  be  no  divis 
ions  among  the  people.  And  it  is  one  of  the  most  melancholy  signs  of  the 
times,  that,  while  hostile  hosts  are  marching  upon  the  national  capital,  our 
generals  in  the  field  are  wrangling  for  personal  preferment,  and  our  politi 
cians  are  preparing  to  open  a  campaign  of  politics  before  the  people. 

In  the  loyal  states  there  are  a  few  men  of  extreme  and  opposite  views ; 
some  can  see  nothing  worth  preserving  while  slavery  continues,  and  others 
will  have  it  for  a  political  creed  that  the  servitude  of  an  inferior  to  a  supe 
rior  race  is  the  best  condition  for  bolh  races,  and  would  hamper  and  par 
alyze  the  government  in  its  struggles  for  self-existence  with  new-fangled 
refinements  of  constitutional  construction.  But  between  these  extremes,  upon 
a  strong,  broad  platform  at  once  conservative  and  patriotic,  embodying  the 
principles  of  the  constitution  for  peace,  sanctioning  the  vigor  of  Jackson 
for  war,  the  great  body  of  the  people  may  meet  and  unite  their  efforts  to 
save  all  that  is  so  nearly  lost. 

The  proper  creed  for  these  times  is  exceedingly  simple:  The  constitution 
to  be  applied  in  the  courts,  the  sivord  to  be  applied  to  the  enemy.  Life,  liberty 
and  property  are  secured  against  everything  but  the  paramount  necessities 
of  national  preservation,  but  against  these  necessities  neither  life,  liberty  noi 


DECLINING   CONGRESSIONAL   HONORS.  2O7 

property  can  or  ought  to  be  protected.  If  slavery  in  any  instance  or  place 
is  in  the  way  of  the  nation's  march  to  victory,  sweep  it  away ;  if,  on  the 
other  hand,  slavery  in  any  instance  or  place  is  one  side,  do  not  let  us  be 
diverted  by  it  from  our  first  duty  to  restore  the  government  and  punish 
traitors.  The  hearty  adoption  and  faithful  application  of  these  principles 
by  the  government,  with  reasonable  skill  in  the  field,  will  save  the  nation; 
and  with  all  this  party  politics  has  nothing  to  do;  and  while  this  is  the  only 
business  of  the  government,  party  organizations  founded  upon  differences 
of  civil  policy  are  a  hindrance  and  a  nuisance. 

But  the  office-holding  politicians  of  the  republican  party  have  con 
demned  all  these  salutary  principles,  and  have  thrown  down  the  gauntlet 
by  calling  a  strict  party  convention,  and  nominating  a  strict  and  extreme 
party  candidate.  Those  democrats  who  have  thought  it  a  duty  to  support 
the  government,  administered  by  republicans,  and  have  advocated  the  sus 
pension  of  party  strife  during  the  war,  have  done  so  in  good  faith,  and  not 
as  a  pretense  for  sliding  into  the  republican  party.  The  theory  that  the 
people  choose  their  officers  is  one  of  the  best  jokes  ot  this  mirthful  land. 
A  few  politicians  in  each  party  fix  the  two  tickets,  and  the  people  patiently 
submit  and  choose  between  them,  often  thoroughly  convinced  that  neither 
is  fit  for  the  place. 

With  two  candidates  in  the  field,  representing  extreme  politicians  of  the 
opposite  parties,  a  third  nomination  would  greatly  increase  the  bitterness 
of  the  campaign,  and  multiply  the  difficulties  it  sought  to  avoid,  unless  the 
people  at  large  were  really  interested  and  active  in  the  matter.  A  call  is 
not  the  best  way  to  secure  this  unanimity  of  action,  because  it  often 
anticipates  public  sentiment  by  forcing  it  into  certain  channels ;  so  that 
while  the  people  might  be  willing  to  ignore  parties  they  might  be  equally 
anxious  to  ignore  the  so-called  no-party  candidate.  A  candidate  placed 
before  the  people  by  a  call  from  his  friends  might  with  great  effort  and  ex 
pense  be  elected;  but  this  would  not  accomplish  the  purpose,  which  is,  not 
to  elect  some  particular  person,  but  to  represent  the  people,  and  by  the 
moral  force  of  such  an  election,  shame  and  silence  party  strife. 

For  these  reasons  I  think  it  would  be  unwise  at  this  time  to  crowd  the 
field  with  another  candidate,  and  under  the  present  circumstances  I  feel  it 
a  duty  to  decline  your  call . 

I  am,  gentlemen,  very  respectfully, 

MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 

Frequently,  for  various  reasons  good  and  bad,  young 
couples  clandestinely  take  the  marriage  vows,  but  still  retain 
their  former  names  and  places  before  the  public.  They  are 
nevertheless  married.  Carpenter,  in  the  foregoing  letter,  pro 
tests  that  he  had  not  supported  the  war  measures  of  the 


2O8  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

Lincoln  administration  "  as  a  pretense  for  sliding  into  the  re 
publican  party."  He  may  not  have  realized  the  fact,  but  his 
public  actions  had  already  landed  him  in  the  very  center  of 
the  republican  camp..  The  democrats  made  a  congressional 
nomination,  but  he  supported  Potter. 

A  CHANGE  OF  FRONT. 

Politics  brings  some  curious  changes  in  the  relative  posi 
tions  of  men.  In  1848  Charles  A.  Eldredge  delivered  a 
free-soil  address  at  Beloit,  and  Carpenter,  as  a  democrat,  in 
his  first  public  speech  in  Wisconsin,  combated  Eldredge's 
propositions.  In  1862  Eldredge  was  a  candidate  of  the 
straight  democracy  for  congress  in  the  fourth  district  of 
Wisconsin,  and  Carpenter  went  into  that  section  and  opposed 
his  election,  favoring  the  elevation  of  Edward  S.  Bragg,  the 
Union  candidate,  then  a  lieutenant-colonel  in  the  army  and 
leading  the  boys  at  the  front.  In  opposing  the  election 
of  Eldredge  Carpenter  was  assisted  by  Ichabod  Codding, 
the  greatest  abolitionist  orator  in  the  west,  and  they  together 
addressed  audiences  of  extraordinary  size.  At  Beaver  Dam 
and  Fond  du  Lac  Carpenter  spoke  alone  to  immense  gather 
ings.  At  the  latter  place,  the  home  of  Eldredge,  he  was 
not  permitted  to  retire  until  midnight. 

THE  IMMORTAL  DECREE 

Carpenter  was  undoubtedly  the  first  man  of  note  in  the 
republic  to  maintain  that  the  Rebellion  could  never  be  crushed 
as  long  as  the  insurrectionists  were  backed  by  the  resources 
of  a  vast  slave  population.  Therefore,  when  the  emancipa 
tion  proclamation  was  issued,  in  September,  1862,  he  hastened 
to  publicly  approve  it  and  to  rally  the  loyal  populace  to  sup 
port  it  with  renewed  hope  as  the  great  and  only  measure 
that  could  settle  for  all  time  the  tremendous  struggle  that 
was  shaking  both  continents.  He  telegraphed  his  congratu 
lations,  approval  and  strengthened  hopes  to  Washington,  the 
message  to  Lincoln  being  in  these  words:  "The  great  trans- 


THE  IMMORTAL  DECREE.  2O$ 

action's  done.  Your  immortality  will  be  co-existent  with 
that  of  the  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  Nothing  but  your  decree 
of  emancipation  could  have  saved  the  republic." 

One  of  the  very,  first  mass-meetings  in  the  country  to  rat 
ify  the  President's  action  was  held  in  Chicago.  Carpenter 
was  present  and  made  the  chief  address.  As  he  was  one  of 
the  earliest,  perhaps  the  first,  to  urge  the  adoption  of  some 
measure  of  this  kind,  and  as  the  proclamation  itself  is  the 
noblest  act  of  any  American  citizen,  his  remarks  would  be 
worthy  of  incorporation  here  in  full  if  a  perfect  copy  of  them 
were  to  be  had.  There  shall  at  least  be  presented  an  imper 
fect  synopsis: 

We  need  not  necessarily  discuss  the  propriety  of,  or  necessity  for,  the 
President's  proclamation.  Upon  that  subject  there  is  understood  to  have 
been  difference  of  opinion  in  the  cabinet,  hesitation  on  the  part  of  the  Pres 
ident;  and  very  likely  we  should  find  difference  of  opinion  among  the 
speakers  and  hearers  to-night.  But  that  is  not  the  question.  Wise  or  un 
wise,  necessary  or  unnecessary,  it  has  gone  forth,  and  the  only  question 
now  to  be  con-idered  is,  shall  the  government  be  sustained  in  enforcing  it? 
The  ship  of  state  is  tossed  by  angry  waves;  our  liberties,  our  national  ex 
istence  even,  hang  on  the  results  of  military  operations,  and  the  com 
mander  must  take  the  responsibility  of  directing  what  shall  and  what  shall 
not  be  done.  He  may  not  always  do  the  wisest  thing,  but  we  have  no  hope 
but  in  executing,  unitedly  and  without  disputation,  such  plans  as  the  Presi 
dent  may  devise.  We  are  not  presidents,  not  generals,  not  cabinet  officers; 
the  sovereign  power  of  the  people  is  delegated  and  can  not  be  recalled 
until  the  expiration  of  the  President's  constitutional  term  of  office;  and 
during  that  term  this  grave  question  must  be  settled  for  or  against  the  ex 
istence  of  the  government.  The  necessities  of  military  success  require 
subordination  to  one  guiding  mind,  and  any  policy,  even  the  worst,  is  prefer 
able  to  no  policy.  We  have  drifted  long  enough,  and  our  captain  at  length 
indicates  a  port  and  orders  us  to  make  for  it.  It  may  not  be  the  best  that 
could  have  been  selected;  there  may  be  shoals  in  our  course,  and  breakers 
ahead,  but  it  is  certain  that  we  must  unite  in  our  efforts  to  reach  it,  or  go 
down  in  the  engulfing  flood.  For  one,  I  propose  to  go  ashore;  and  after 
ward,  when  delivered  from  the  tempest,  we  shall  have  long  winter  nights 
and  soft  summer  days  to  discuss  political  questions  and  court-martial  the 
captain,  ;'/  he  deserves  it. 

I  would  support  the  measure,  even  though  I  thought  it  unwise,  so  long 
as  it  remains  the  military  policy  of  the  country.  But  I  do  not  believe  it  nn- 
ivise.  At  first  it  was  thought  that  there  was  a  suppressed  •;Union  feeling  in 


2IO  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

the  south,  and  while  that  was  believed,  of  course  it  was  unwise  to  overlook 
the  fact.  But  from  all  sources  we  receive  the  same  advice  —  southerners  are 
bitter  and  desperate.  They  can  not  be  won  back  to  duty  and  allegiance; 
they  are  to  whip  us,  or  we  them.  Now  the  simple  question  is  presented, 
shall  we  let  them  go,  see  the  Union  fall,  let  the  Mississippi  seek  its  outlet 
in  a  foreign  land,  or  shall  we  at  any  and  all  events  vindicate  the  government, 
maintain  our  dominion  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf,  and  with  a  firm  and 
vigorous  hand  put  down  this  most  unjust  and  wicked  Rebellion? 

This  is  the  only  issue  before  the  people.  At  this  point  we  may  say,  in 
the  language  of  Scripture,  "  As  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he."  A 
broad,  distinct  line  is  drawn  between  the  people;  and  on  one  hand  are  those 
who  are  willing  to  sustain  the  government  at  all  events  and  by  every  nec 
essary  means.  On  the  other  are  those  who  support  the  government  "  in 
sort  and  limitation;"  who  support  it  provided  their  views  are  carried  out; 
provided  the  President  is  willing  to  go  into  the  ring  with  his  feet  shackled 
and  his  hands  tied  by  refined  constitutional  constructions ;  provided  the  in 
stitution  of  slavery  is  held  more  sacred  than  the  constitution  itself;  and  pro 
vided  the  President  will  consent  to  exhaust  our  means  and  waste  our  white 
men  of  the  north  by  thousands  and  millions,  rather  than  let  one  African 
escape.  The  division,  in  a  word,  is  between  those  who  would  support  the 
constitution  unconditionally,  and  those  who  would  support  \\.onJy  upon  cer 
tain  terms  and  conditions.  And  this  proclamation,  like  the  voice  of  Elijah 
on  the  Mount,  separates  the  true  from  the  false.  Henceforth,  the  cavilers 
in  the  north  must  take  sides  —  they  must  be  for  the  policy  of  the  govern 
ment  or  against  it. 

The  rights  of  property  and  all  other  rights  must  give  way,  if  necessary, 
before  the  war  power;  and  this  proclamation  merely  announces  the  future 
war  policy  of  the  government. 

First,  there  is  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  President 
to  conduct  the  war  to  a  successful  end;  if  it  be  necessary  to  desolate  the 
south,  then  let  the  south  be  desolated  — the  necessity  is  our  justification. 

Second,  the  only  remaining  question  is  the  necessity  of  the  particular 
measure,  and  of  that  the  President  is  for  the  present  the  sole  judge.  He 
says  it  is  necessary.  I  believe  it  is.  The  slave  is  merely  property  to  his 
master,  and  our  northern  objectors  say,  rather  than  weaken  the  south  by 
depriving  the  rebels  of  their  property,  let  us  -waste  another  million  of  true, 
loyal  men,  and  a  thousand  millions  in  treasure. 

Considered  in  this  point  of  view,  the  question  is,  upon  whom  shall  fall 
the  expense  of  restoring  the  government?  Shall  it  fall  upon  the  loyal  north 
or  the  rebel  south?  Are  we  willing  to  sacrifice  another  thousand  millions 
of  dollars  to  protect  the  same  amount  to  the  south  in  the  property  of  their 
slaves?  But  this  is  not  all  of  the  question  — are  we  willing  to  send  for  the 
other  million  of  our  northern  men  to  waste  by  disease  and  fall  pierced  by 
.insurgent  bullets? 


THE   IMMORTAL   DECREE.  211 

I  have  no  language  to  express  my  detestation  of  such  a  policy.  I  would 
not  sacrifice  my  father,  or  brother,  or  the  son  or  brother  of  one  of  my 
neighbors,  to  continue  a  hundred  million  Negroes  in  slavery  eternally, 
much  less  send  another  great  army  from  our  green  fields  and  comfortable 
homes  to  die  in  southern  swamps,  and  mingle  their  bones  with  southern 
slaves,  if  the  same  end  can  be  accomplished  by  emancipation.  Slavery,  like 
every  other  right  of  property,  should  be  protected  under  the  constitution; 
but,  when  the  master  rebels  against  the  constitution,  he  can  not  use  it  as  a 
shield  to  protect  himself  in  his  efforts  to  destroy  the  constitution.  This 
makes  the  constitution  give  aid  and  comfort  to  its  enemies.  \\  e  have  this 
gigantic  Rebellion  raging  and  surging  around  the  capital ;  we  have  an  Indian 
war  on  the  border;  foreign  nations  are  threatening  to  intervene,  our  case  is 
desperate,  we  need  desperate  remedies,  and  I  uphold  and  applaud  this 
proclamation  for  this  reason.  It  is  impossible  to  foresee  all  its  results.  I 
look  upon  it  in  great  hope,  and  with  some  apprehensron ;  I  may  illustrate 
by  saying  it  is  an  overloaded  gun,  directed  towards  the  enemy ;  it  may  kill 
them,  or  us,  God  knows  which,  I  hope  not  us;  but,  at  all  events,  and  in 
every  contingency,  /  hold  it  my  duty  to  stand  by  the  gun. 

Returning  from  Chicago,  Carpenter  stopped  at  Racine 
and  addressed  a  mass-meeting  (September  29th),  exhorting 
all  lovers  of  the  Union  to  sustain  the  President,  and  to  go  on 
with  recruiting,  as  the  north  had  brighter  prospects  of  suc 
cess  than  ever  before.  Here  he  prepared  an  illustrative 
ticket  showing  his  audience  the  exact  political  condition  of 
the  north. 


ONLY  Two  PARTIES. 

Traitors. 

No  Neutrals. 

Patriots. 

At  Janesville,  on  October  3d,  he  addressed  another  ratifica 
tion  mass-meeting.  Judge  John  R.  Bennett,  who  was  one  of 
the  vice-presidents  .of  the  meeting,  described  the  speech  as 
"  the  ablest  ever  delivered  in  Janesville.  On  the  main  question 
of  the  -power  of  the  President  to  issue  and  enforce  his  recent 
proclamations,  as  war  measures,  he  was  convincing  and  con 
clusive;  while,  on  the  propriety  and  necessity  of  those  meas 
ures,  he  was  explicit  and  unqualified  in  his  approval."  At  the 
close  of  this  meeting,  a  large  number  of  citizens  met  at  the 


212  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

Hyatt  House,  and  tendered  Carpenter  an  elegant  banquet. 
He  thus  proceeded  over  the  state  during  several  weeks, 
making  similar  speeches  to  the  masses,  doing  effective  service 
in  reducing  and  preventing  conscription  by  draft. 

THE  RYAN  ADDRESS. 

In  August,  1862,  the  anti-war  democrats  held  a  convention 
in  Milwaukee  and  adopted  as  a  platform  or  address  a  docu 
ment  of  great  length  and  greater  sedition,  known  in  subse 
quent  history  as  the  "  Ryan  Address."  It  was,  without 
doubt,  the  most  unpatriotic  pronunciamento  given  to  the  pub 
lic  in  any  northern  state  during  the  Rebellion.  Carpenter  at 
once  wrote  a  "  review  "  of  it,  which  appeared  in  not  only  the 
loyal  papers  of  Wisconsin  but  those  of  the  entire  north.  The 
address  declared  slavery  to  be  right  and  the  only  natural 
condition  for  an  inferior  race,  denounced  the  administra 
tion  for  usurpation  of  power,  denied  the  authority  of  the 
President  to  suspend  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  put  the  blame 
for  the  Rebellion  on  the  north,  and  generally  afforded  aid  and 
comfort  to  the  enemy.  Although  it  was  a  production  of  ex 
treme  wickedness  and  disloyalty,  the  digestive  historian  of 
to-day  can  see  the  good  fortune  that  attended  its  birth;  for 
it  added  ten-fold  to  the  power  and  earnestness  of  Carpenter 
in  his  ceaseless  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  Union. 

After  the  "  review  "  had  been  published,  a  writer,  supposed 
to  have  been  Judge  Ryan  himself,  advised  "  the  boys,"  as 
he  characterized  Carpenter  and  his  followers,  to  read  Jack 
son  and  Washington  as  the  very  embodiment  of  the  princi 
ples  of  the  "  Ryan  Address."  Carpenter  replied  to  this  on 
September  n,  1862,  receiving  a  letter  of  thanks  from  Ed 
win  M.  Stanton,  secretary  of  war.  It  is  too  full  of  history, 
law  and  logic  for  excision  from  this  volume.  It  proceeds: 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Evening  Wisconsin  : 

A  writer  never  was  more  unfortunate,  when  trying  to  sustain  an  un 
founded  document,  than  was  the  editor  of  the  News  when  he  tried  to  draw 
consolation  from  either  Washington  or  Jackson. 


THE   RYAN   ADDRESS.  213 

The  quotations  have  not  the  slightest  application  to  the  subject;  but  the 
whole  public  lite  of  Jackson  is  a  refutation  of  Mr.  Ryan's  address. 

To  say  nothing  of  his  Florida  campaign,  in  which  he  exercised  innumer 
able  imperial  powers,  which  he  and  his  friends  justified,  not  by  the  consti 
tution,  but  by  the  necessities  of  the  case,  let  us  come  directly  to  the  last 
war  when  Jackson  had  military  command  at  New  Orleans,  and*there  we 
shall  find  many  cases  directly  to  the  point,  and  completely  overthrowing 
Mr.  Ryan's  theory  that  the  constitution  is  a  regulator  of  ivar,  or  a  guide  to 
the  President  and  his  military  subordinates  in  conducting  the  war.  We  shall 
see  many  things  which  Jackson  did  outside  the  constitution,  and  how  he 
and  his  political  friends  defended  his  conduct. 

He  first  proclaimed  martial  law,  and  while  it  was  in  force,  though  after 
the  report  of  peace  had  reached  the  United  States,  the  Louisiana  Gazette,  a 
newspaper  printed  at  New  Orleans,  published  a  certain  article  which  called 
from  the  old  hero  a  communication  denying  its  truth,  which  he  sent  by  an 
aid-de-camp  to  the  offending  editor,  with  a  'written  order  requiring-  its  in 
sertion  in  the  next  issue  of  the  paper,  and  concluding  as  follows: 

"  Henceforth  it  is  expected  that  no  publication  of  the  nature  of  that  herein 
alluded  to  and  censured  will  appear  in  any  paper  of  the  ci/y,  unless  the  ed 
itor  shall  have  previously  ascertained  its  correctness  and  gained  permission 
for  its  insertion  from  the  proper  source" 

During  this  state  of  things,  Fienchmcn  attempted  to  elude  the  general's 
iron  grasp,  under  so-called  protections  from  the  French  consul  at  New  Or 
leans;  and  Jackson  issued  an  order  requiring  all  unnaturalized  Frenchmen, 
together  ivith  the  French  consulate  leave  New  Orleans  within  three  days>,  and 
not  to  return  to  within  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  of  the  city  until  the 
news  of  the  ratification  of  peace  should  be  officially  published.  This  order 
was  thought  by  some  to  be  "outside  the  constitution;"  and  they  protested 
against  it  in  an  article  in  the  Louisiana  Courier  (another  newspaper  of  the 
city),  'which  protest  rrads  exceedingly  like  Mr.  Ryarfs  address,  and  denounces 
the  order  as  illegal  and  unconstitutional.  Thereupon  Jackson  ordered  the 
editor  to  headquarters,  and  compelled  him  to  disclose  the  name  of  the 
writer,  Louallier;  and  then  Jackson  sent  a  file  of  soldiers  to  arrest  Loual- 
lier.  Indignant  that  his  article,  which  is  in  the  very  strain  of  Mr.  Ryan's 
address,  and  written  to  prove  that  M  the  constitution  provides  for  all  the  ex 
igencies  of  war,"  should  be  regarded  as  cause  for  his  arrest  Louallier  ap 
plied  to  Judge  Hall,  of  the  United  States  court,  for  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus. 
That  worthy  functionary,  believing,  like  Mr.  Ryan,  that  the  constitution 
does  indeed  provide  for  all  the  exigencies  of  war,  that  the  freedom  of  the 
press  could  not  be  trammeled,  and  that  the  arrest  of  Louallier  without  proc 
ess,  in  a  loyal,  state  was  illegal,  allowed  the  writ.  The  officer  came  to 
serve  it ;  and  Jackson  being  informed  of  what  had  taken  place,  rushed  to  meet 
the  officer,  seized  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  from  his  hand,  and  detained  it; 


214  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

and  immediately  ordered  Judge  Hall  to  be  arrested  and  imprisoned  in  the 
same  room  with  the  French  expounder  of  the  doctrine  that  the  constitution 
provides  for  all  the  exigencies  of  tear. 

Now,  actions  speak  louder  than  words.  This  is  what  Jackson  did ;  and 
that  too  in  a  loyal  state;  and  this  he  did  as  a  representative  of  the  President, 
exercising  by  delegation  from  the  then  President,  Mr.  Madison,  the  Presi 
dent's  executive  power.  Turn  now  to  Mr.  Ryan's  address  and  see  how  it 
is  supported  by  the  authority  of  Gen.  Jackson. 

1.  *'  We  deny  the  poiver  of  the  executive  to  suspend  the  writ  of  habeas 
corpus  in  the  loyal  states.     We  deny  that  this  act,  materially  changing  the 
laws  of  the  land,  is  an  executive  act." 

Jackson  suspended  the  writ,  and  then  suspended  the  judge  who  issued  if, 
and  all  this  in  a  loyal  state. 

2.  "  We  deny  the  poiver  of  the  executive  to  make  arrests  in  the  loyal  states. 
*    *    There  are  federal  courts  in  all  the  loyal  states  with  full  power  and 
Jurisdiction  to  punish  all  crimes  against  the  United  States." 

Jackson  made  arrests  in  a  loyal  state;  and  arrested  the  judge  of  a  federal 
court  in  a  loyal  state. 

3.  "  We  deny  the  poiver  of  the  executive  to  trammel  the  freedom  of  the 
press,  by  the  suppression  of  newspapers." 

Jackson  trammeled  the  freedom  of  the  press;  and  if  he  did  not  do  it 
by  suppressing  the  newspapers,  it  was  because  the  editor,  who  had  heard 
the  lion's  roar,  did  not  provoke  his  paw. 

Here,  then,  are  three  distinct  planks  of  Mr.  Ryan's  platform,  which  ex 
clude  Jackson  from  the  tents  of  the  democracy  as  clearly  as  other  portions 
exclude  Douglas.  When  this  address  shall  be  universally  applied,  and  all 
those  shall  be  excluded  who  do  not  deny  its  doctrines  or  practice  its  les 
sons,  Mr  Ryan  will  remain  the  leader,  and  the  News  the  organ,  of  a  glo 
rious  little  party,  the  harmony  of  which  will  never  be  disturbed  by  any 
impulsive  patriotism. 

But  this  is  no*:  all;  not  only  did  Jackson,  when  exercising  by  delegation 
the  executive  power  of  the  President,  deliberately  violate  these  three  fun 
damental  dogmas  of  Mr  Ryan's  address,  but  he,  and  his  friends  afterwards 
in  many  places,  and  during  many  years,  in  speeches  before  the  people,  in 
loyal  arguments,  in  state  papers,  in  reports  and  debates  in  congress,  added 
the  weight  of  their  opinions  and  their  votes  to  sustain  the  conduct  of  Gen 
eral  Jackson,  and  thus  to  condemn  the  principles  of  this  address. 

After  martial  law  ceased  in  New  Orleans,  the  released  Judge  Hall  called 
the  conquering  hero  before  him  to  teach  him  that  thereafter  he  must  con 
duct  wars  inside  the  constitution;  must  not  trammel  the  freedom  of  the  press; 
must  not  make  arrests  in  loyal  states,  and  a  great  many  other  things,  all  of 
which  can  be  found  in  Mr.  Ryan's  address.  Upon  this  occasion  Jackson 
delivered  a  long  paper  in  his  defense  over  his  own  signature,  fully  justify- 


THE   RYAN   ADDRESS.  2 15 

ing  his  conduct,  which  fills  eleven  columns  of  Nilcs1  Register,  and  every 
paragraph  of  which  is  in  deadly  antagonism  with  the  doctrine  of  Mr. 
Ryan's  address. 

The  judge,  however,  was  inexorable,  and  General  Jackson  was  fined  one 
thousand  dollars,  and  paid  his  fine. 

Subsequently,  and  after  General  Jackson  had  been  President,  and  had 
retired  to  private  life,  a  bill  was  introduced  into  congress  to  refund  the  fine, 
upon  the  ground  that  the  conduct  of  Jackson  had  been  perfectly  proper; 
and  this  led  to  a  debate  by  most  of  the  statesmen  of  that  day  upon  the  very 
point  now  under  discussion. 

Robert  J.  Walker,  in  the  senate,  submitted  a  report  upon  this  subject,  in 
which  he  said: 

"  The  law  which  justified  this  act  was  the  great  law  of  necessity ;  it  was 
the  law  of  self-defense.  This  great  law  of  necessity  —  of  defense  of  self, 
of  home  and  of  country — never  was  designed  to  be  abrogated  by  any 
statute,  or  by  any  constitution" 

Mr.  Payne,  of  Alabama,  speaking  upon  this  subject,  said :  "/  shall  not  con 
tend  that  the  constitution  or  laws  of  the  United  States  authorize  the  declara 
tion  of  martial  law  by  any  authority  whatever ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  unknown 
to  the  constitution  or  laws"  And  speaking  of  the  argument  that,  if  the  con 
stitution  did  not  autho"ize  it,  the  general  ought  not  to  declare  martial  law, 
he  says:  "Who  could  tolerate  this  idea?  An  Arnold  might;  but  no  patri 
otic  American  could.  It  may  be  asked  upon  what  principle  a  commander 
can  declare  martial  law,  when  it  is  conceded  that  the  constitution  or  laws 
afford  him  no  authority  to  do  so.  I  answer,  upon  that  principle  of  self- 
defense  which  rises  •paramount  to  all  written  law ;  and  the  justification  of  the 
officer  who  assumes  the  responsibility  of  acting  upon  that  principle  must 
rest  upon  the  necessity  of  the  case" 

Mr.  Livingston,  in  a  written  document  submitted  by  Jackson  to  the  court 
as  a  part  of  his  defense,  gave  his  opinion  as  follows :  "  On  the  nature  and 
effect  ot  the  proclamation  of  martial  law  by  Major-General  Jackson,  my 
opinion  is,  that  such  proclamation  is  unknown  to  the  constitution  and  laws  of 
the  United  States;  that  it  is  to  be.  justified  only  by  the  necessity  of  the  case" 

The  speech  of  Smith,  of  Connecticut,  was  equally  pointed;  and  we  might 
quote  many  columns  from  the  discussions  of  those  days  equally  to  the 
point.  Douglas  himself  made  his  first  great  speech  upon  this  subject;  but 
as  he  is  no  longer  recognized  as  a  democrat,  the  News  would  never  forgive 
my  quoting  his  speech  against  Mr.  Ryan's  address. 

One  of  General  Jackson's  letters,  in  justification  of  his  military  conduct, 
contains  the  following  postscript:  "  It  will  be  recollected  that  in  the  Revo 
lutionary  War,  at  a  time  of  great  trial,  General  Washington  ordered  desert 
ers  to  be  shot  without  trial.  Captain  Reed,  under  this  order,  having  arrested 
three,  had  one  shot  without  trial;  but  he  (General  Washington)  repri 
manded  Reed  for  not  shooting  the  whole  three." 


2l6  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

After  the  matures!  consideration,  congress  paid  back  the  fine ;  and  thus 
was  Jackson  vindicated  by  the  democratic  party,  and  by  the  nation,  in  the 
vigorous  exercise  of  power  which  marked  his  New  Orleans  campaign. 
And  how  fully  and  perfectly  is  Jackson  vindicated  by  the  people  (the  source' 
of  all  authority),  in  the  universal  exclamation  that  now  rises  up  from  every 
patriotic  American  heart  —  "Oh!  that  Jackson  were  President  to-day!" 

Washington  and  Jackson  met  the  exigencies  of  war,  not  with  statutes 
and  constitutions,  but  with  a  healthy  application  of  military  law;  and,  in 
the  proper  case,  with  summary  arrest  and  speedy  death.  The  severity  and 
military  vigor  of  Jackson's  New  Orleans  campaign  would  end  this  Rebell 
ion  in  six  weeks;  hence  Breckenridge  labored  to  prove  that  the  war  power 
was  limited  by  the  constitution. 

The  principle  announced  by  Breckenridge  is  elaborated,  polished,  hid  in 
meal,  sugared  over  with  an  artful  expression  of  conceded  truths,  in  this 
address,  and  democrats  are  bidden  to  fall  down  before  it.  The  News,  the 
organ  of  this  doctrine  in  Wisconsin,  says  "  the  boys" —  that  is,  those  who 
do  not  believe  in  it  —  should  read  Jackson.  Bowing  to  its  authority,  and 
willing  to  have  our  democracy  corrected  if  it  was  at  fault,  "  the  boys  "  have 
been  to-day  to  the  fountain-head  of  democratic  faith,  illustrated  by  practice — 
not  any  barren  recital  of  dead  dogmas,  but  the  living,  ab  ding,  daily  coun 
sel  and  conduct  of  Andrew  Jackson ;  and  it  appears  that  if  this  address  em 
bodies  democratic  opinions,  democracy  has  sprung  up  since  Jackson  went 
down  in  the  grave. 

Now,  Mr.  Editor  of  the  News,  the  above  quotations  are  the  fruit  of 
a  reading  of  the  times  of  Jackson,  undertaken  upon  your  suggestion.  If 
you  know  any  other  fat  ]ier  of  democracy  whose  writings  you  think  can  be 
safely  relied  on  to  prove  that  the  war  power  is  limited  by  the  constitution, 
please  name  him,  and  "the  boys"  will  search  and  give  you  the  result  of 

the  investigation. 

MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 


REVOLT   AGAINST   THE   DRAFT.  21 7 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

REVOLT  AGAINST  THE  DRAFT. 

On  the  night  before  election,  in  1860,  Carpenter  delivered  in 
Watertown,  Wisconsin,  a  powerful  speech  in  favor  of  the  elec 
tion  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  He  was  in  fine  health  and  spirits, 
and  deeply  in  earnest.  He  had  never  spoken  with  more 
warmth  and  effect.  He  said  his  soul  was  full  of  apprehension, 
he  could  feel  danger  in  the  air  and  smell  the  smoke  of  civil  war. 
"  Such  a  war,"  he  cried,  "  can  only  be  averted  by  the  elec 
tion  of  Judge  Douglas,  and  I  think  all  patriots,  irrespective 
of  party,  should  turn  in  with  their  mighty  forces  to  place 
him  in  the  President's  chair,  and  thus  bridge  over  the  terri 
ble  crisis  that  is  pending." 

Then,  paying  a  generous  tribute  to  Douglas,  he  predicted 
that  if  Lincoln  should  be  elected  the  sound  of  the  recruiting 
drum  would  be  heard  in  Watertown  in  less  than  a  year.  "  But 
if  the  first  blow  of  such  fratricidal  strife  shall  come  from 
the  south  —  that  is,  if  she  shall  raise  her  hand  in  violence 
against  the  government,  the  flag  and  the  Union  —  I  will,  if 
possible,  be  the  first  man  in  the  field  in  their  defense,  where  I 
hope  I  shall  meet  every  one  of  you,  ready  to  fight  to  the  last 
for  the  banner  and  the  chart  of  1776,  for  '  none  can  die  too 
soon  who  die  for  their  country.'  " 

All  the  prophecies  of  that  occasion  were  literally  fulfilled. 
Lincoln  was,  as  he  anticipated,  elected,  the  fife  and  recruit 
ing  drum  were  heard  at  Watertown  in  less  than  a  year,  and 
Carpenter  was  one  of  the  first  "  in  the  field  in  defense  of  the 
Union."  But  the  first  call  for  volunteers  did  not  summon  an 
army  which  could  crush  the  Rebellion.  The  business  of 
recruiting,  therefore,  had  to  be  more  closely  organized,  and  the 
quota  of  each  state  was  advertised,  which  in  turn  was  sub 
divided  into  quotas  for  the  counties,  towns  and  wards.  This 
brought  the  matter  into  definite  shape  before  the  large  class 


2l8  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER 

of  foreign-born  settlers  of  Watertown  and  vicinity.  The 
leading  German  paper  of  Wisconsin  opposed  the  war,  and 
advised  its  countrymen  to  avoid  enlisting  and  resist  the  drafts. 
The  argument  used  among  the  Germans  was:  "Shall  you 
who  have  left  your  fatherland  to  escape  the  army  and  the 
tyranny  of  conscription,  enter  this  abolition  strife  to  be 
butchered  for  a  cause  in  wrhich  you  have  no  interest?" 
Scores  of  the  foreigners  living  at  Water. own  and  vicinity,  in 
flamed  by  this  seditious  reasoning,  p-epared  to  return  to 
Europe. 

Secretary  Stanton's  "  stay-at-home  order  "  l  had  little  or  no 
effect.  The  war  leaders,  half-baffled,  yet  determined  to  win, 
while  the  excitement  was  most  intense  and  the  anti-war 
feeling  at  its  bitterest,  telegraphed  Carpenter  to  come  with 
out  delay.  Dropping  everything  he  started  on  the  first 
train  —  sprung  to  obey  the  cry  from  Macedonia,  "  Come  over 
and  help  us."  Reaching  the  city  in  the  early  evening  he  was 
met  at  the  depot  by  a  large  concourse  of  Union  men  who 
conducted  him  to  the  center  of  the  place.  A  dry-goods  box 
was  pushed  into  the  middle  of  the  street  and  an  impromptu 

1  That  manifesto  was  issued  August  8,  1862,  by  order  of  President  Lin 
coln,  and  in  his  great  debate  on  the  admission  of  Georgia,  April  18,  1870, 
Carpenter  declared  that  although  "in  a  mere  constitutional  sense  it  was  a 
great  outrage,  in  the  higher  atmosphere  of  national  necessity  was  found  its 
justification,"  and  that  "  a  more  beneficial  act  was  not  performed  during  the 
entire  war."  Observe  how  strongly  this  confirms  all  his  doctrines  during 
the  Rebellion  —  that  a  nation  has  a  right  to  every  means  of  self-preserva 
tion,  and  that  no  nation  can  be  destroyed  by  interposing  constitutional  ob 
jections  to  the  necessary  modes  of  self-defense.  The  order  was  as  follows : 

"  By  direction  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  it  is  hereby  ordered 
that,  until  further  order,  no  citizen  liable  to  be  drafted  into  the  militia  shall 
be  allowed  to  go  to  a  foreign  country.  And  all  marshals,  deputy  marshals 
and  military  officers  of  the  United  States  are  directed,  and  all  police  author 
ities,  especially  at  the  ports  of  the  United  States  on  the  sea-board  and  on  the 
frontier,  are  requested  to  see  that  this  order  is  faithfully  carried  into  effect. 
And  thev  are  hereby  authorized  and  directed  to  arrest  and  detain  any  per 
son  or  persons  about  to  depart  from  the  United  States  in  violation  of  this 
order,  and  report  to  Major  L.  C.  Turner,  judge  advocate,  at  Washington 
City,  for  further  instructions  respecting  the  person  or  persons  so  arrested  or 
detained." 


MORE   GOSPEL    OF   PATRIOTISM  2Ip 

choir  sang  "  The  Star  Spangled  Banner."  The  effect  was 
marvelous.  That  stirring  air,  ringing  with  patriotism, 
brought  the  assembled  country  folk  and  the  residents  of  the 
city,  trooping  from  every  corner. 

As  Carpenter  observed  them  appear  mysteriously  upon 
sidewalks  and  corners,  the  mystic  whistle  of  Roderick  Dhu 
flashed  through  his  mind.  Turning  to  those  who  sat  near 
him  he  said :  "  This  is  wonderful."  A  moment  later,  stretch 
ing  his  hand  toward  the  assembling  crowds,  he  repeated,  in 
exact  consonance  with  the  occasion,  that  extract  from  the 
Lady  of  the  Lake  which  describes  how,  like  the  appearance 
of  a  "  subterranean  host,"  the  whistle  of  the  Highland  chief 
"  garrisoned  the  glen." 

Just  as  the  song  died  away  he  finished  the  quotation  and 
rose  to  speak.  He  was  greeted  at  first  with  some  manifesta 
tions  of  disapprobation.  In  ten  minutes  that  was  silenced; 
in  twenty  minutes  it  was  transformed  into  respectful  interest, 
and  in  half  an  hour  the  crowd  belonged  wholly  to  the 
speaker  and  was  swayed  at  his  will.  Enemies  became 
friends,  the  luke-warm  became  patriotic  and  the  patriotic 
enthusiastic.  Never  was  a  change  more  amazing.  The 
enlistment  rolls  were  called  for.  Signatures  came  with  rapid 
ity  for  some  time,  and  before  the  night  was  done  almost  the 
full  quota  had  been  enrolled.  More  wonderful  still,  a  large 
number  of  the  volunteers  were  from  among  those  who,  if 
they  had  not  actually  packed  their  satchels  for  the  journey, 
had  fully  resolved  to  depart  for  Canada  or  return  to  Europe. 

MORE    GOSPEL  OF   PATRIOTISM. 

The  magnitude  of  the  war-meeting  addressed  by  Carpen 
ter  on  the  camp-grounds  of  the  Third  and  Fourteenth  regi 
ments,  called  Camp  Hamilton,  in  1862,  had  never  been 
equaled  in  Wisconsin.  The  throng  was  entirety  in  sym 
pathy  with  him,  and  responded  to  his  splendid  tributes  and 
appeals  with  rounds  of  applause.  There  was  no  phalanx 
of  copperheads  to  be  subdued,  and  the  luke-warm  fell  into 


220  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

the  line  of  marching  patriots  as  though  led  by  some  irresist 
ible  power.  At  the  close  of  the  meeting  Carpenter  said: 
"  Give  me  one  hundred  counties  like  Fond  du  Lac  and  I  can 
put  down  the  Rebellion  alone!"  This  remark  contained 
more  truth  than  may  be  popularly  supposed,  for  Fond  du 
Lac,  first  and  last,  sent  a  large  number  of  men  into  the  field. 

From  that  time  he  always  loved  to  go  to  Fond  du  Lac, 
and  after  returning  to  Milwaukee  from  the  first  meeting, 
exclaimed:  "  Oh,  I  had  a  glorious  meeting!  I  am  more  en 
couraged  than  I  have  been  for  a  long  time.  The  war  will 
end  all  right,  and  I  know  it;  no  country  can  be  defeated 
whose  cause  is  just  and  whose  armies  are  recruited  by  such 
men  as  I  addressed  by  the  thousand  in  Camp  Hamilton." 

Thus  he  went  from  place  to  place,  swelling  the  enlistment 
rolls,  rousing  the  people  to  offer  more  liberal  bounties  in 
order  to  avert  the  drafts,  and  cheering  those  who  had  already 
enlisted;  and  one  who  knew  publicly  observed  that  "the 
money  earned  at  intervals  in  his  profession  was  freely  given 
to  the  wives  and  children  of  those  who  had  gone  to  the 
front."  Nor  did  he  relax  his  efforts  for  the  Union  until  Lee 
delivered  his  sword  to  Grant  under  the  hallowed  apple-tree 
at  Appomattox. 

On  the  2Oth  day  of  October,  1862,  Governor  Edward  Sal 
omon  appointed  Carpenter  "judge  advocate  general  of 
militia  for  Wisconsin."  In  the  counties  of  Washington,  Ke- 
waunee,  Ozaukee  and  Manitowoc  the  operations  of  the  draft 
commissioners  were  being  interfered  with,  and  Governor  Sal 
omon  thought  to  bring  into  use  Carpenter's  knowledge  of 
military  law.  The  duties  of  the  office  to  which  he  was 
appointed  required  him  to  prosecute  at  all  sessions  of  courts- 
martial,  any  offenders  against  military  laws  and  regulations. 

In  1863,  especially  during  the  gubernatorial  campaign, 
Carpenter  devoted  a  large  share  of  his  time  to  addressing 
war  and  political  meetings,  appearing  at  every  considerable 
city  in  Wisconsin.  He  supported  James  T.  Lewis,  the  re 
publican  or  Union  candidate  for  governor,  and  attacked  the 


A  FAMOUS  LETTER.  221 

heresies  of  H.  L.  Palmer's  platform  with  great  energy 
and  effect.  Lewis  was  elected  by  a  majority  unprecedented 
in  Wisconsin. 

A  FAMOUS  LETTER. 

Early  in  1863  Carpenter  received  a  letter  from  one  of  his 
early  democratic  friends  in  Grant  county  inquiring:  "Are 
you  still  in  favor  of  a  vigorous  prosecution  of  this  abolition 
war,  which  started  out  for  the  sole  and  only  purpose  of  abol 
ishing  slavery?  It  seems  to  me  that  it  has  gone  far  enough 
for  such  an  inhuman,  unholy  and  unconstitutional  purpose.  I 
wish  the  readers  of  the  Good  Book  would  carefully  read  and 
inwardly  digest  (and  the  abolition  preachers  too)  the  25th 
chapter  of  Leviticus,  which  relates  to  master  and  servants." 

Carpenter's  reply,  which  found  its  way  into  the  public 
prints,  and  disconnected  extracts  from  which,  five  years  later, 
afforded  a  rare  feast  for  C.  C.  Washburn,  the  La  Crosse 
Re^ublican^  and  other  opponents  of  his  election  to  the  United 
States  senate,  was  as  follows:, 

MILWAUKEE,  Feb.  28,  1863. 
R.  L.  REED,  ESQ.: 

Dear  Sir  —  Returning  yesterday,  I  find  yours  of  the  I2th  instant.  Pass 
ing  its  business  matters,  which  I  will  attend  to,  I  desire  to  answer  your 
political  questions,  which  I  understand  to  be  pointed  at  me  in  friendly  re 
monstrance  for  the  position  I  have  taken  upon  the  subject  to  which  you 
refer. 

You  speak  of  the  war  as  having  "  started  out  for  the  sole  and  only  pur 
pose  of  abolishing  slavery." 

This  I  regard  as  a  very  dangerous  and  fundamental  error.  The  election 
of  Abraham  Lincoln,  however  unwise,  was  constitutional  and  binding  upon 
the  whole  people  of  the  United  States.  It  was,  therefore,  not  an  act  of  war 
against  the  south,  nor  a  justifiable  cause  of  war  by  the  south  against  the 
government.  See  the  Ryan  Address.  Yet  South  Carolina,  Mississippi, 
Florida,'  Alabama,  Georgia,  Louisiana  and  Texas  seceded  from  the  Union ; 
the  Confederate  government  was  organized,  Jeft'  Davis  elected  and  inaugu 
rated  President,  and  forts,  ships,  public  buildings,  arms  and  treasures  of  the 
United  States,  in  the  seceded  states,  were  seized  by  the  Confederacy  before 
even  the  inauguration  of  Lincoln;  all  of  which  were  undoubted  acts  of 
war.  The  attack  upon  Fort  Sumter  commenced  actual  hostilities  before  the 
present  administration  had  passed  a  law  or  done  any  official  acts  affecting 
the  rights  of  the  south.  This  ends  the  idea  that  the  war  was  commenced 


222  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

by  abolitionists  for  any  purpose  whatever.  Lincoln,  in  his  inaugural, 
pledged  himself  to  sustain  all  the  constitutional  rights  of  the  south ;  the 
senate  was  democratic,  and  the  republicans  were  powerless  to  touch  slav 
ery,  even  if  they  desired  to  do  so.  The  south,  well  knowing  no  overt  act 
of  the  government  would  ever  be  attempted  against  them,  chose  to  dissolve 
the  Union  upon  the  mere  pretext  of  Lincoln's  election ;  and,  so  far  as  I 
have  heard,  not  even  a  southern  newspaper  has  ever  assigned  an  unfriendly 
or.  unjust,  much  less  an  unconstitutional  act  of  the  government  against  the 
south,  as  the  cause  of  the  Rebellion. 

This  is  the  point  from  which  we  must  take  our  bearings  and  departure. 
Was  the  Rebellion  justified  or  not  in  its  inception?  This  question  settled, 
all  else  must  follow.  To  say  that  the  election  of  a  President  authorized 
the  minority  to  fly  to  arms  to  overthrow  the  government,  would  canonize 
revolt,  and  no  government  of  free  institutions,  state  or  national,  could 
stand  beyond  its  first  election,  for  there  must  always  be  a  dissatisfied  minor 
ity.  If  the  Rebellion  was  not  justifiable,  then  it  was  not  only  the  right,  but 
the  duty,  of  the  government  to  put  it  down  by  military  force,  and  to  con 
tinue  the  use  of  force  until  the  proper  object,  obedience  to  the  constitution, 
should  be  fully  accomplished.  And,  if  this  is  the  duty  of  the  government, 
then  all  good  citizens  ought  to  aid  and  sustain  the  government  in  the  pros 
ecution  of  just  such  war  to  a  satisfactory  and  honorable  end,  whether  it 
continue  one  year  or  ten  generations.  Thus  do  I  deduce  the  duty  of 
all  democrats  to  support  the  government,  "even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world." 

The  position  of  the  party  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion  was  most 
perplexing,  and  called  for  the  exercise  of  the  loftiest  public  virtues.  We 
had  just  passed  through  a  presidential  campaign,  in  which  we  foretold  all 
that  has  happened;  we  warned  the  country  or  the  danger;  we  implored 
our  opponents  to  moderate  their  madness;  to  desist  from  the  fatal  scheme 
of  electing  a  sectional  President;  to  aid  us  in  elevating  to  the  highest  seat 
in  the  republic,  one  —  since  gone  to  his  reward  —  who  could,  if  it  were  pos 
sible  for  man,  avert  the  horrors  of  civil  war;  who  might,  if  such  war  must 
come,  conduct  us  safely  through  it,  to  a  haven  of  union,  justice  and  peace. 
Our  warnings  were  disregarded,  prudence  silenced,  and  from  all  our  great 
ones,  who,  though  dead,  still  live,  the  people  turned  away,  rejected  Doug 
las  and  chose  one  for  whom  his  most  sanguine  friends  have  never  claimed 
any  other  qualification  than  honest  incapacity.  As  soon  as  the  result  was 
known,  the  catastrophe  hastened.  While  democrats  were  smarting  under 
defeat,  and  before  the  farthing  lamps  of  the  Wide- A  wakes  were  extinguished, 
the  war-cloud  we  had  seen  rising,  "no  bigger  than  a  man's  hand"  instantly 
grew  black,  and  enveloped  and  burst  upon  the  land.  It  is  cause  of  regret, 
but  not  of  wonder,  that  many  faltered,  and  were  disposed  to  let  the  repub 
licans  get  out  of  the  war  as  best  they  might;  and  it  is  cause  of  rejoicing, 
of  thanksgiving  to  God,  that  the  democrat  s  had  a  leader  in  that  hour  whose 


A.    FAMOUS   LETTER.  223 

eye  blanched   not,  and   who   saw  plainly  our  whole   duty  to  the   state. 

Douglas 

"  is  in  his  grave; 
After  life's  fitful  fever,  he  sleeps  well." 

It  may  be  thought  whimsical  or  extravagant,  but  to  my  mind  there  is  not 
in  all  human  history  a  more  conspicuous  example  of  grand,  self-forgetting 
patriotism,  than  he  exhibited  in  those  memorable  last  days  of  his  life, 
when,  standing  before  his  open  grave,  he  forgot  his  own  disappointment, 
rebuked  the  murmurs  of  his  friends,  and  uttered  those  counsels  of  wisdom, 
those  exhortations  to  duty,  that  like  a  trumpet  aroused  the  democratic  party 
and  rallied  it  around  the  constitution  to  beat  back  its  murderers.  From  his 
last  speeches,  especially  since  we  know  they  are  his  last,  we  naturally  turn 
to  Washington's  farewell  address.  But  how  widely  different  the  circum 
stances  of  the  writers.  Washington,  at  the  close  of  a  life  of  dazzling 
splendor,  with  every  ambition  gratified,  turned  to  the  people,  and  from  an 
impulse  of  common  gratitude  bade  them  farewell  with  counsels  and  bless 
ings.  Douglas  had  been  rejected,  derided,  scoffed  at,  spit  upon,  crucified ; 
yet  above  it  all  he  arose,  in  the  very  spirit  of  the  prayer,  "  Father,  forgive 
them,  they  know  not  what  they  do."  The  angi-y  emotions  an  unsuccess 
ful  campaign  had  created  in  his  followers  could  not  blind  him.  He  had 
foretold  that  war  would  follow  Lincoln's  election;  but  he  had  also  boldly  said 
in  Virginia  that  such  election  would  not  justify  a  revolt,  and  he  would  aid  to 
put  it  down.  And  when  the  war  came  he  rose  like  a  tower  of  light  and 
strength  between  the  government  and  its  assailants.  Had  he  lived  there 
would  have  been  no  uncertain  sound  from  the  trumpet  of  democracy;  we 
should  have  had  no  Ryan  addresses;  and  New  York  politicians  would 
have  been  spared  the  humiliation  of  eating  their  own  words,  and  the  shame 
of  their  coquetry  with  u  the  ivayward  sisters." 

All  admit  that  it  is  our  duty,  that  -we  have  sworn,  to  support  the  constitu 
tion —  the  constitution  as  Washington  and  the  fathers  made  it;  as  it  was,  as 
it  is;  every  word;  every  sentence;  without  discrimination  of  provisions; 
without  mental  or  moral  reservation.  Among  our  political  duties,  this 
rises  in  altitude  of  obligation  like  the  commandments  above  the  la~vs;  to  sup 
port  the  constitution,  which  is  —  and  because  it  is  —  the  cementing  princi 
ple,  the  circling  band,  the  life  and  soul  of  the  Union.  But  how  is  this, 
which  all  acknowledge,  to  be  performed?  And  here,  men  who  mean  the 
same  thing  are  found  face  to  face;  so  difficult  it  is  to  descend  from  the  gen 
eralities  to  the  details  of  patriotism.  To  support  the  constitution  is  to  main 
tain  and  perpetuate  the  government  of  which  it  is  the  soul.  And  the 
manner  of  our  support  must  be  determined  by  the  character  of  the  danger 
that  threatens  it.  When  assailed  by  the  theoretical  dogmas  of  nullification, 
Webster  supported  the  constitution  by  the  Hayne  speech.  Now,  when  it 
is  sought  to  overthrow  it  by  armed  Rebellion,  we  can  only  support  the  con 
stitution  by  overthrowing  the  Rebellion.  To  do  this,  the  people  of  the 


224  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

north  must  stand  together;  must,  for  the  time,  forget  old  party  disputa 
tions;  must,  to  quote  from  Douglas'  great  speech,  which  is  a  perfect  patri 
otic  "  sermon  on  the  mount,"  full  of  all  doctrine  and  exhortation,  "  Cease 
discussing  party  issues,  make  no  allusion  to  old  party  tests,  have  no  crim 
ination  or  recrimination,  indulge  in  no  taunt  one  against  the  other,  as  to 
who  has  been  the  cause  of  these  troubles."  Douglas  here  taught  a  lesson 
of  patriotism  too  high  for  popular  comprehension ;  and  it  is  settled  by  the 
action  of  the  republicans  themselves  that  we  must  keep  up  party  organiza 
tions.  But  let  us  not  divide  the  people  upon  the  great  duty  of  supporting 
the  government.  But,  you  may  say,  thus  to  support  the  government  is  to 
support  an  administration  which  is  violating  the  constitution  by  illegal 
arrests,  and  squandering  Negroes  by  proclamation. 

Now  here  I  rise  to  a  question  of  order.  Before  we  discuss  this  question 
of  the  power  of  the  President  to  do  certain  things —  that  is,  before  we  enter 
upon  a  construction  of  the  provisions  of  the  constitution  —  let  us  first  settle 
the  question,  whether  we  have  any  constitution  to  be  construed.  The  sum 
mary  arrest  of  a  few  northern  sympathizers  with  treason  may  be  very  un 
constitutional  ;  that,  however,  is  a  question  that  we  can  discuss  hereafter. 
But  this  Rebellion  must  be  suppressed  now  or  never.  Beauregard,  in  his 
late  proclamation  at  Charleston,  called  upon  the  people  to  come  with  or 
without  arms,  come  with  scythes,  with  flails,  with  anything  to  kill  a  federal 
soldier.  So  here  in  this  hand-to-hand  fight  for  national  life  we  have  no 
time  to  examine  closely  whether  every  blow  that  is  given  be  according  to 
the  constitution,  if  it  kill  or  help  to  kill  a  traitor  in  arms,  if  it  darken  the 
chances  of  southern  success,  and  tend  thus  to  give  preponderance  to  the 
government.  We  will  settle  this  constitutional  scrape  after  the  peace,  when 
we  shall  not  be  interrupted  in  our  investigation  by  the  roar  of  battle,  or 
seduced  away  by  the  stirring  enchantment  of  drum  and  fife.  Jackson,  by 
proclaiming  martial  law  at  New  Orleans,  arresting  editors  and  judges,  and 
threatening  to  blow  up  the  legislature,  repelled  a  threatened  invasion,  pre 
served  the  sanctity  of  our  soil,  and  supported  the  constitution.  But  you  may 
say  this  was  unconstitutional.  I  suppose  so;  but  was  it  not  wise  in  that 
emergency  to  violate  the  form  of  the  constitution  to  preserve  its  substance? 
The  people  so  declared  by  electing  Jackson  twice  to  the  Presidency  against 
all  the  whig  criticisms  upon  his  so-called  arbitrary  and  illegal  conduct 
The  principles  by  which  our  public  men  are  to  be  judged  are  plain.  If  it 
was  necessary,  then  it  was  right  to  suspend  the  habeas  corpus.  If  you  think 
it  was  unnecessary  in  those  states  where  the  courts  were  sitting,  so  do  I; 
if  you  think  it  was  unwise  to  suspend  the  habeas  corpus,  which  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  has  always  regarded  as  an  invitation  to  revolt,  so  do  I ;  but  is  this  the 
time  to  enter  into  an  angry  contention  with  the  government,  upon  this  sub 
ject,  which  will  certainly  weaken  it  and  aid  the  Rebellion?  Of  two  evils, 
but  one  of  which  can  be  corrected  at  the  same  time,  let  us  by  all  means 
first  correct  the  greater.  There  have  not  been  five  hundred  persons  sum- 


A    FAMOUS   LETTER.  225 

marily  arrested  in  all  the  north.  They  have  been  confined  in  forts,  and  fed 
and  clothed  by  the  government.  Compare  the  sum  total  of  their  sufferings 
with  the  condition  of  five  hundred  thousand  of  our  loyal  men,  whose  blood 
is  daily  sinking  in  southern  soil,  and  crying  to  heaven  for  vengeance  upon 
southern  traitors  and  northern  sympathizers  with  treason.  Let  us  rescue 
these  first,  put  down  the  Rebellion,  establish  the  constitution;  then  we  will 
attend  to  the  case  of  these  fat  fellows  in  Fort  LaFayette  and  other  healthy 
places  of  restraint,  where  they  have  been  kept  from  danger,  perhaps  from 
crime,  and  if  it  turns  out  that  they  have  been  unjustly  imprisoned,  let  us 
make  them  ample  restitution,  and  punish  those  who  imprisoned  them.  Con 
sidering  that  nearly  if  not  quite  all  who  have  been  arrested  have  been 
offered  their  liberty  upon  merely  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance,  and  have 
been  detained  because  they  refused,  their  case,  though  exceedingly  interesting 
in  a  constitutional  point  of  vieiv,  can  await  an  hour  of  the  breathing-time  of 
peace,  for  final  adjustment. 

These  illegal  arrests  are  very  bad,  but  they  fall  upon  white  men,  and 
that  can  be  endured.  But  the  unpardonable  sin  of  this  administration,  its 
blasphemy  against  the  holy  ghost  of  politics,  is  the  Emancipation  Procla 
mation.  A  democrat  might  consent  to  be  imprisoned  himself,  but  it  breaks 
his  heart  to  think  a  Negro  may  be  free. 

Why,  we  are  told  by  men  black  in  the  face  with  wrath,  if  is  unconstitu 
tional.  Well,  that  is  my  understanding  of  it.  But  after  the  best  investiga 
tion  I  have  been  able  to  give  the  subject,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the 
Rebellion  is  unconstitutional  also!  If  the  plaintiff  demur  to  my  defense  I 
may  attack  his  statement  of  action,  and  judgment  must  be  given  upon  the 
whole  record.  If  an  accomplished  soldier  be  set  upon  by  a  painted  savage 
at  midnight,  may  not  the  soldier  defend  himself  by  a  blow  not  taught  by 
the  rules  of  art?  If  traitors  attack  the  government  by  unconstitutional 
means,  may  not  loyal  men  defend  it  by  the  same  means?  Or  does  the  con 
stitution  only  tie  the  hands  of  its  friends?  No  one  justifies  the  proclama 
tion  except  as  an  exercise  of  the  war  power.  In  and  of  itself  it  accom 
plishes  nothing;  it  merely  announces  the  future  war  policy  of  the 
government.  When  the  war  ceases  the  war  power  ceases  with  it,  and  the 
south  can  return  to  their  duty  to-day  and  thus  end  the  war,  and  plead 
the  constitution  in  defense  of  themselves  and  their  property. 

The  wh  te  population  of  the  south  is  under  arms  and  fed  by  crops  raised 
by  slaves.  Without  this  resource  the  Rebellion  could  not  sustain  itself  a 
month.  If  its  provisions  protect  to  the  traitor  the  only  means  he  has  for 
continuing  the  struggle,  then  the  constitution  is  giving  aid  and  comfort  to  its 
o~wn  enemies,  and  ought  to  be  sent  to  Fort  LaFayette  for  treason !  If  one 
Negro  can  be  captured  and  sent  out  of  the  south,  then  one  Negro  is  with 
drawn  from  aiding  the  Rebellion;  and  if  a  proclamation  can  seduce  him 
from  toiling  ibr  traitors  in  arms,  then  I  say:  "good  for  the  proclamation." 
This  is  no  question  of  philanthropy  with  me.  I  am  no  abolitioni&t.  If  we 
'5 


226  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

have  a  right  to  enslave  blacks  for  our  benefit,  have  we  not  as  good  a  right, 
if  our  salvation  requires  it,  to  set  them  free?  I  do  not  support  the  procla 
mation  because  it  may  emancipate  slaves,  but  because  it  may  withdraw 
slave  labor  from  furnishing  supplies  for  the  Rebellion.  I  am  not  trying  to 
free  slaves,  but  to  whip  traitors;  and  one  way,  in  my  belief  the  quickest 
and  easiest  way,  is  to  cut  off  their  supplies.  It  may  be  a  part  of  the  prej 
udices  which  many  years  of  reading  and  speaking  upon  this  subject  have 
generated,  yet  I  do  not  believe  it  an  act  of  kindness  to  emancipate  them. 
But  when  God  visits  a  nation  in  wrath,  the  innocent  and  guilty,  men, 
women  and  children,  black  and  white,  bond  and  free,  even  the  cattle  on  the 
thousand  hills,  must  suffer  together. 

If  it  is  really  necessary,  we  must  harden  our  hearts,  drive  the  fat,  happy 
black  man  from  his  kind  master,  his  genial  home  in  the  sunny  south  (land 
of  chivalry  and  beauty,  so  precious  to  Negroes),  and  compel  him  to  endure 
in  some  cooler  clime  the  bufferings,  the  temptations,  the  outrage  and  horror 
of  freedom !  This  disposes  of  complaints  from  the  slave.  If  his  master, 
a  rebel  in  arms,  looks  north  to  say,  "your  accursed  proclamation  has  de 
prived  me  of  $10,000,  and  thus,  and  so  far,  reduced  my  ability  to  continue 
this  war  against  you,"  I  reply,  "  my  only  regret  is  that  we  can  not  also 
take  your  forfeited  life  by  a  proclamation."  If  the  proclamation  withdraw 
one  slave  from  toiling  for  the  Rebellion,  then  it  will  do  a  good  thing;  if  it 
can  not  produce,  as  some  say,  the  least  effect,  if  it  is  merely  air,  paper,  noth 
ing,  then  it  is  a  small  thing  to  make  a  great  rumpus  about.  But  it  may  be 
said,  all  infractions  of  the  constitution  are  dangerous,  and  should  be  re 
sisted.  Well,  which  do  you  think  endangers  the  existence  of  the  constitu 
tion  most,  a  proclamation  which  you  say  can  do  neither  good  nor  bad,  or 
five  hundred  thousand  rebels  with  fixed  bayonets  rushing  on  the  capital? 
After  exercising  all  the  charity  God  has  given  me,  I  do  not  believe  these 
extreme  technical  scruples  arise  from  a  love  of  the  constitution. 

What  is  the  meaning  of  this  craven  crying  for  peace,  while  traitors  are 
levying  war?  A  strange  thing  to  come  from  the  democratic  party.  Of 
course  we  all  desire  peace  if  it  can  be  had  with  honor  and  the  Union.  But 
it  is  well  known  that  no  peace  can  be  had  except  on  the  basis  of  dissolu 
tion.  The  south  must  be  recognized  or  subdued.  Therefore  to  declare  for 
peace,  is  to  declare  for  disunion.  And  are  you  ready  to  say  peace  at  such 
a  price?  Shall  the  democratic  party  at  last  accomplish  the  dissolution  of 
the  Union  it  has  spent  its  whole  efforts  in  preserving?  If  there  is  one 
article  of  its  creed  more  essential  than  another,  it  is  the  preservation  of  the 
Union  at  the  expense  of  all  life  and  property,  inside  or  outside  of  the  Union. 
And  they  who  now  cry  for  peace  —  dishonorable  peace  —  by  separating  the 
states  and  rending  the  flag,  will  go  down  to  political  graves  with  Hartford 
convention  federalism,  and  every  other  party  and  ism,  that,  when  tried  by 
the  single  standard,  " love  of  country  right  or  wrong"  has  been  found 
wanting. 


A   FAMOUS   LETTER.  227 

Our  great  trouble  is,  that  we  have  no  acknowledged  leader  of  national 
reputation ;  no  one  great  exponent  of  democratic  faith,  hope,  and  duty. 
If  the  great  statesman  could  rise  again  from  his  grave  on  the  margin  of  the 
murmuring  Michigan  sea,  and  say  once  more  to  the  discordant,  angry  ele 
ments,  "  peace,  be  still,"  then  we  should  see  again  the  marching  battalions 
and  exultant  thousands  of  democrats  whom  his  voice  first  called  to  the  war. 
But  alas!  the  dust  of  death  has  choked  that  utterance  of  wisdom  and 
patriotism,  and  we  must  grope  our  way  without  a  leader,  without  a  light. 

And  yet  the  great  democratic  party,  although  at  present  in  a  false  posi 
tion,  blind  with  rage,  and  led  by  blind  guides  madder  still,  is  the  last  and 
only  hope  of  our  country.  In  all  the  past  of  its  history  the  democratic  party 
has  been  found  true  to  the  great  duty  of  sustaining  the  government.  From 
its  organization,  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  time  democrats  have  admin 
istered  its  affairs;  they  have  protected  and  shielded  the  ark  of  the  constitu 
tion  against  assaults  of  foreign  foes,  and  amid  the  dangers  of  internal  strife. 
It  and  they  are  inseparably  connected;  the  history  and  glory  of  one  is  the 
history  and  glory  of  the  other.  If  democrats  now  falter  in  that  support,  it 
must  fail ;  if  they  turn  against  it  by  act  or  word,  it  will  despair  and  die. 

But  there  are  signs  of  better  things ;  some  hope  that  Seymour  intends  to 
put  the  democratic  party  once  more  in  connection  with  its  own  principles ; 
relieve  it  from  longer  being  —  what  has  proved  more  than  once  fatal  to  its 
opponents  —  a  peace  party  in  time  of  war.  If  Seymour  will,  he  can  do  this; 
can  save  the  country  and  be  its  next  President.  The  party  once  more 
erect,  its  face  to  the  foe,  no  right-minded  man  could  fail  to  choose  correctly 
between  the  republican  party,  born  of  sectional  hate,  reigning  only  with 
civil  war,  and  the  old  hereditary  party  of  the  constitution,  its  brow  adorned 
with  trophies  of  peace,  and  covered  all  over  with  martial  glory.  Then 
again  the  government  will  be  safe;  then  again  we  will  march  to  the  flag 
and  keep  step  to  the  music  of  the  Union;  then  these  little  irritating  diffi 
culties  about  arrests  and  proclamations  will  be  drowned  by  the  shouts  and 
exultations  of  a  united  people  battling  for  the  best  government  ever  known 
among  men.  Governor  Seymour  can  not  fail  to  see  the  grand  opportunity 
fortune  has  opened  to  him,  not  merely  to  make  himself  President  (that  is 
vulgar),  but  to  infold  again  these  half-dissevered  states,  fix  the  power  of  the 
general  government  where  no  traitors  would  ever  again  dare  to  assail  it, 
and  record  his  own  name  only  below  that  of  Washington.  All  this  he  may 
do,  all  this  I  believe  he  means  to  do.  M.  H.  CARPENTER. 

This  is  the  letter  from  which  the  La  Crosse  Republican 
made  garbled  quotations  during  the  senatorial  contest  of 
1868  (steadily  refusing  Carpenter's  repeated  requests  to 
publish  the  whole  of  it)  for  the  purpose  of  proving  that  he 
was  yet  a  democrat.  As  a  whole,  it  was  an  admirable  pro- 


228  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

duction  for  a  loyal  man  of  any  party  at  a  time  of  civil  war,  but 
some  of  its  separate  parts  were  food  for  his  political  enemies. 
It  was  remarkable  for  two  things,  to  wit:  Its  unfavorable 
reference  to  President  Lincoln  and  its  illogical  treatment  of 
the  democratic  party.  After  showing  that  all  those  who 
were  attempting  in  the  south  to  destroy  the  Union,  and  those 
in  the  north  who  were  weakening  the  government  by  sym 
pathizing  with  secession,  were  democrats,  he  yet  declared 
that  the  "  great  democratic  party  was  the  last  and  only  hope 
of  the  country."  Both  of  these  features,  however,  can  be 
explained.  He  entertained  very  clear  and  pronounced  views 
upon  the  best  means  of  carrying  on  the  war  successfully, 
and  had  at  about  this  time  become  displeased  with  what  he 
regarded  as  a  lack  of  well-defined  purpose  and  vigorous 
determination  on  the  part  of  the  administration;  hence  his 
application  of  the  term  "  honest  incapacity  "  to  Mr.  Lincoln. 
His  illogical  treatment  of  the  democratic  party  can  be  illus 
trated  by  the  address  of  the  immortal  Scottish  bard,  Robert 
Burns,  "  To  Mary  in  Heaven."  The  poet  was  loyal  and 
true  in  every  form  to  the  wife  of  his  bosom,  yet,  when  he  felt 
the  returning  throb  of  his  earlier  love  for  the  dead  Mary 
Campbell,  he  could  but  cry: 

41  Oh,  Mary !  Dear  departed  shade ! 

Where  is  thy  place  of  blissful  rest? 
See'st  thou  thy  lover  lowly  laid? 

Hear'st  thou  the  groans  that  rend  his  breast? 

"That  sacred  hour  can  I  forget; 

Can  I  forget  the  hallowed  grove, 
Where  by  the  winding  Ayr  we  met 

To  live  one  day  of  parting  love? 
Eternity  will  not  efface 

Those  records  dear  of  transports  past — 
Thv  image  at  our  last  embrace  — 

Ah!  little  thought  we  'twas  our  last! 


"Still  o'er  those  scenes  my  mem'ry  wakes, 

And  fondly  broods  with  miser  care ; 
Time  but  th'  impression  stronger  makes, 
As  streams  their  channels  deeper  wear." 


A   FAMOUS   LETTER.  2  29 

And  thus  it  was  with  Carpenter.  While  his  every  move, 
speech  and  act  had  been  in  the  strictest  conformity  to  the 
war-policy  of  the  republican  party;  while  he  had  been  ear 
nestly  loyal  to  the  Union  and  the  constitution,  and  while  in 
this  very  letter  he  had  pointed  out  the  deflections  and  errors 
of  the  democratic  party  and  the  treasonable  tendencies  of 
the  peace-crying  wing  of  that  organization,  he  could  not  re 
frain  from  paying  a  tribute  to  his  earlier  love,  the  dead  and 
departed  democracy  of  Jefferson  and  Jackson. 


230  LIFE   OF  CARPENTER. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  JANESVILLE  CONVENTION. 

The  proceedings  of  what  is  known  as  the  Janesville  mass- 
convention  constitute  the  most  important  chapter  in  the  his 
tory  of  the  Wisconsin  democracy. 

A  democratic  state  convention  assembled  at  Madison  on 
the  5th  day  of  August,  1863.  It  nominated  a  ticket  for  state 
officers,  and  adopted  a  platform  embracing  the  "  Ryan  Ad 
dress  "  and  a  series  of  resolutions  which,  if  anything,  ex 
ceeded  the  address  in  hostility  to  the  active  war  powers  of 
the  federal  government.  At  no  period  during  the  war  had 
the  Union  been  in  greater  peril,  or  the  fabric  of  republican 
institutions  so  threatened  and  shaken  to  the  very  centre.  The 
address  was  perhaps  the  most  unpatriotic  utterance  of  the 
war  period,  and  it  may  be  supposed,  if  not  with  safety  affirmed, 
that  although  it  was  deliberately  adopted  by  the  convention, 
no  one  except  its  author  was  thoroughly  imbued  with  its 
furious  disloyalty.  When  the  convention  adopted  it  and 
supplemented  it  by  an  avalanche  of  factious  complaints,  a 
large  number  of  patriotic  citizens  who  had  always  adhered 
to  the  democracy  laid  aside  their  party  prejudices.  Carpen 
ter,  Judge  Arthur  MacArthur,  of  Milwaukee,  and  Charles 
D.  Robinson,  of  Green  Bay,  issued  a  circular  inviting  leading 
democrats  in  every  portion  of  the  state  who  sympathized 
with  their  efforts  to  support  the  government,  to  a  conference 
at  the  Newhall  House,  in  Milwaukee,  on  the  2Oth  day  of 
August,  1863,  to  consider  what  course  should  be  pursued. 
At  this  meeting  a  mass-convention  was  unanimously  agreed 
upon.  A  call  was  prepared  and  signed  by  all  who  attended 
the  conference.  Among  the  distinguished  public  men  pres 
ent  Carpenter  was  the  leading  spirit,  and  gave  the  movement 
the  inspiration  of  his  abilities  and  earnestness.  The  call 
declared: 


THE  JANESVILLE   CONVENTION.  23! 

At  a  time  when  the  government  of  the  United  States  is  struggling  for  its 
very  existence  amidst  blood  and  carnage,  we  observe  this  convention  pro 
mulgating  a  voluminous  and  inflammatory  creed,  which  contains  no  re 
sponse  to  the  unspeakable  interests  which  this  immense  Rebellion  threatens 
with  instant  ruin.  We  therefore  call  upon  all  who  are  in  favor  of  the  reso 
lute  prosecution  of  the  war  to  crush  out  this  wicked  conspiracy  against  our 
common  liberties,  who  are  in  favor  of  unconditionally  supporting  the 
government  in  its  efforts  and  credit,  in  upholding  its  laws  and  replenishing 
its  armies  until  the  supremacy  of  the  constitution  shall  be  re  established 
over  every  state,  and  upon  every  spot  of  our  domain,  to  meet  in  a  mass- 
convention  to  be  held  at  the  city  of  Janesville  at  twelve  M.,  on  the  I7th  day 
of  September,  1863,  for  the  purpose  of  mutual  consultation,  and  to  decide 
upon  such  steps  as  shall  appear  conducive  to  the  welfare  of  the  country.! 

A  large  gathering  responded.  A.  Hyatt  Smith  called  the 
convention  to  order  and  Jonathan  E.  Arnold  was  its  presi 
dent.  A  series  of  resolutions  were  read  by  Carpenter,  and 
an  address  to  the  people  of  the  state  was  reported,  protesting 
against  the  Madison  platform  and  pledging  the  heart  and 
soul  of  the  state  to  the  support  of  the  government  in  its 
prosecution  of  the  war.  By  his  counsel  and  presence  Car 
penter  was  one  of  the  chief  elements  of  success.  In  the 

1  It  is  not  intended  that  this  volume  shall  be  a  history  of  everybody's 
political  career,  but  the  author  has  such  a  high  regard  for  those  who 
abandoned  their  party  to  serve  their  country  (the  soldier,  unlike  the  politi 
cian,  could  take  his  politics  with  him),  that  he  is  determined  to  give  some 
perpetuity  to  their  honor  by  recording  the  names  of  those  loyal  democrats 
who  signed  this  call : 

Rock  county — M.  C.  Smith,  B.  F.  Pixley,  A.  Hyatt  Smith,  L.  F.  Patten, 
H.  Richardson,  John  Mitchell,  O.  P  Robinson,  J.  H.  Reigart,  George 
Benton,  E.  H.  Burdick,  S.  II.  Marquisee. 

Milwaukee  county  —  Matt.  H.  Carpenter,  Levi  Blossom,  Levi  Ilubbell, 
J.  E.  Arnold,  Arthur  MacArthur,  O.  Alexander,  H.  Potter,  Jr.,  Byron 
Kilbourn,  Lyndsey  Ward,  Geo.  H?  Walker,  J.  J.  Talmadge,  N.  B.  Caswell, 
A.  C.  Bentley,  Jno.  A.  Savage,  Jr.,  Erastus  Foote,  Alanson  Sweet,  E.  H. 
Brodhead,  Lester  Sexton,  Joseph  Gary. 

Dodge  county. —  S.  W.  Herrick,  James  Thorn 

Brown  county  —  Chas.  D.  Robinson. 

La  Crosse  county  —  A.  P.  Blakeslee. 

Ozaukee  county  —  Eugene  S.  Turner. 

Jefferson  county  —  W.  W.  Hatcher. 

Waukesha  county  —  Henry  Totten. 

Fond  du  Lac  county — Edward  S.  Bragg. 

Wai  worth  county —  William  C  Allen,  H.  S.  Winsor,  E.  G.  Wheeler. 


232  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

evening  he  made  one  of  those  unpremeditated,  off-hand 
speeches  for  which  he  had  become  celebrated,  which  thrilled 
the  audience  and  raised  the  enthusiasm  to  the  highest  pitch 
of  patriotic  excitement. 

When  the  work  of  the  convention  was  done,  he  and  other 
democrats,  perhaps  already  divorced  from  the  democracy 
a  mensa  et  tkoro,  now  became  fully  divorced  a  vinculo  malri- 
monii — separated  from  it  never  to  return.  This  was  the 
complete,  or  perhaps  formal,  turning-point  in  his  political 
career,  and  his  subsequent  life  is  proof  that  the  man  who 
adheres  to  his  country  from  a  high  sense  of  duty  will  be 
appreciated  and  honored. 

The  following  description  is  extracted  from  a  sketch  of 
the  leading  war-democrats  in  attendance  at  the  convention, 
written  by  Jonas  M.  Bundy: 

On  a  step  below  Walker,  and  upheld  by  the  kindly  extended  ramparts  of 
locomotive  machinery,  is  the  bold,  daring  and  yet  clear-seeing  young  Bay 
ard  of  our  loyal  democracy.  That  stoutly-built,  but  compact  and  finely- 
knit  frame,  is  full  of  muscular  endurance;  the  veins  are  full  of  fresh  young 
blood,  and  the  heart  full  ot  enthusiasm.  He  sits  restless,  and  strokes  his 
beard  with  a  quick,  nervous  movement.  He  is  full-brimming  with  nervous 
and  brain  power;  is  an  engine  thrilling  with  pent-up  forces.  When  the 
throttle  is  opened,  there  will  be  a  blast  which  will  be  worth  a  thousand 
men.  He  is  a  young  man,  but  already  one  of  note ;  one  who  is  so  eloquent 
at  the  bar  or  on  the  platform.  The  man  impresses  you  favorably;  he  wears 
«o  haut  a  crest,  as  with  shield  cast  aside  and  lance  in  rest,  he  rides  down 
the  Ryan  rabble.  With  words  as  smooth  as  oil,  and  a  smile  as  sweet  as  a 
girl's,  he  impales  Sat.  Clark,!  sitting  near,  and  gives  him  to  infamy  here, 
and  damnation  hereafter.  That  is  Matt.  Carpenter. 

ANOTHER  "CALL. 

Carpenter  had  become  so  strong  and  popular  with  the 
masses  that  during  the  summer  of  1864  there  was  a  decided 
manifestation  in  favor  of  his  nomination  as  a  candidate  for 
congress  in  the  Milwaukee  district  by  the  Union  party,  as  the 

1  Sat.  Clark  was  one  of  the  leading  democrats  who  did  not  join  with  Car 
penter  in  supporting  the  government  during  that  gloomy  period. 


ANOTHER    CALL.  233 

republican  party  and  its  allies  of  war-democrats  were  then 
temporarily  called.     This  brought  forth  the  following  letter: 

MILWAUKEE,  Sept.  5,  1864. 

For  some  time  my  name  has  been  mentioned  in  connection  with  a  nom 
ination  for  congress  by  the  convention  to  meet  at  Racine  on  the  yth  inst 

It  is  due  to  myself  and  to  the  gentlemen  who  will  constitute  that  con 
vention,  to  say  that  I  could  not  accept  a  nomination  from  them,  because  it 
might  be  construed  into  an  indorsement  of  principles  I  do  not  entertain. 
From  my  earliest  acquaintance  with  public  affairs  to  the  firing  upon  Fort 
Sumter,  I  was  a  democrat  of  the  strictest  sect  in  full  communion,  in  theory 
and  in  practice.  When  the  war  came  without  any  excuse  or  justification 
on  the  part  of  the  south,  it  was  a  clear  duty,  as  I  thought,  to  support  the 
administration  of  the  government,  although  elected  against  my  choice  and 
vote,  in  putting  down  this  Rebellion  as  summarily  as  possible.  In  this  I  was 
separated  from  the  organization  of  the  democratic  party,  without,  however, 
having  changed  my  views  in  regard  to  general  politics.  If  this  war  should 
continue,  my  votes  and  efforts  in  congress  would,  I  suppose,  exactly  rep 
resent  the  republicans  of  Wisconsin,  because  I  should  support  every  proper 
measure  to  strengthen  the  government  and  weaken  the  Rebellion;  I  would 
not  consent  to  treat  with  rebels  except  upon  the  basis  of  unconditional  sub 
mission  to  the  authority  of  the  constitution  and  laws;  nor  would  I  consent 
to  an  armistice  without  even  knowing  that  rebels  wish  to  return  to  obedi 
ence,  which,  in  the  present  state  of  affairs,  could  have  no  effect  but  to  aid 
and  relieve  the  rebels  and  weaken  the  government.  Rebels  must  submit; 
the  government  can  not  yield. 

But  should  peace' be  accomplished  within  the  next  year,  the  authority  of 
the  constitution  be  fully  restored  over  all  the  original  territory  of  the  Union, 
the  Rebellion  hide  its  head,  and  public  affairs  assume  their  wonted  course, 
my  line  of  national  policy  republicans  might  think  very  unsound,  and  I 
might  be  subjected  to  the  imputation  of  having  betrayed  my  constituency 
while  acting  conscientiously  in  my  belief  for  the  public  good. 

MATT.  H.  CARPENTER 

This  letter,  whose  perfect  honor  and  frankness  might 
naturally  be  expected  4o  exert  an  influence  favorable  to  its 
author,  subsequently,  when  Carpenter  became  a  candidate 
for  United  States  senator,  was  made  a  weapon  of  consider 
able  power  and  effect  against  him.  Here  was  an  opportu 
nity  to  leap  into  office  unquestioned  and  unchallenged,  without 
being  compelled  to  disclose  articles  of  political  faith;  so  that 
any  partisan  action  subsequently  taken  could  not  have  been 


234  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

a  betrayal  of  anything  or  anybody.  Yet  he  refused  to  ac 
cept  it,  and  subsequently  was  compelled  to  .  suffer  for 
pursuing  the  honorable  course. 

When  the  convention  referred  to  assembled  at  Racine, 
two  days  after  the  publication  of  the  letter,  Peter  Yates,  of 
Milwaukee,  presented  Carpenter's  name  in  a  very  strong 
speech.  He  always  maintained  that  had  Carpenter  signified 
his  willingness  to  accept,  he  could  have  been  nominated  and 
elected.  As  it  was,  he  received  a  large  complimentary  vote 
in  the  convention. 

He  supported  the  republican  ticket  and  spoke  throughout 
the  state  every  night,  and  frequently  two  or  three  times 
a  day  until  election.  At  a  great  mass-meeting  in  Milwaukee, 
he  alluded  to  the  calling  of  the  national  democratic  conven 
tion  at  Chicago  on  the  4th  of  July  and  its  subsequent 
postponement,  saying: 

The  rascals  did  not  dare  to  meet  on  that  day.  When  they  finally  met, 
what  was  the  result?  McClellan  and  Pendleton  —  the  former  for  -war,  "per 
haps,"  the  latter  for  peace  by  all  means  and  on  any  terms;  and  that  was 
the  feast  to  which  the  democracy  were  invited.  McClellan  was  kept 
cooped  up  for  fourteen  days,  not  knowing  what  to  do,  or  whether  to  do 
anything.  Meanwhile  Sherman  was  thundering  at  the  gates  of  Atlanta, 
and  Atlanta  fell.  Then  was  the  spectacle  witnessed  that  every  success  of 
the  war  for  the  restoration  of  the  government  was  a  gigantic  blow  against 
the  democracy.  After  fourteen  days  of  fasting  McClellan's  letter  was 
written,  a  letter  which  presented  the  strange  anomaly  of  being  interpreted 
to  mean  both  war  and  peace.  McClellan  was  pledged  to  this  platform  — 
just  such  a  platform  as  Jeff.  Davis  would  have  written. 

Lincoln  has  honestly  been  endeavoring  to  put  down  the  Rebellion  and 
should  receive  the  hearty  support  of  all  men.  If  we  believe  the  rebels 
right,  then  is  the  war  wrong.  If  the  government  was-  right  in  going  into 
war,  then  is  it  right  now.  The  people  are  pledged  to  the  support  of  this 
government,  not  to  the  4th  of  March  -next,  but  for  ten  generations  —  for 
all  time.  The  north  has  been  enjoying  peace,  plenty  and  prosperity,  yet 
we  hear  grumbling  at  the  high  taxes,  the  sacrifices;  go  south  and  note  the 
sacrifices  there  made  for  an  unholv  cause;  there  you  will  see  no  carpets,  they 
have  been  torn  up  to  cover  the  soldiers  in  the  field.  Diamonds  and  rubies 
have  been  given  to  the  cause  —  bells  no  longer  swing  in  their  places,  calling 
the  people  to  the  sanctuary,  but,  transformed  into  cannon,  are  thundering 
against  the  friends  of  the  government.  The  whole  population  has  been 


CIRCUMCISION    WITHOUT   REGENERATION.  235 

swept  into  the  army ;  so  patriotic  are  the  ladies  that  they  will  not  even 
marry  a  man  unless  he  has  been  in  the.  army.  If  another  draft  should 
come,  I  appeal  to  the  ladies  not  selfishly  to  fold  their  sons,  their  husbands* 
their  brothers  and  lovers  to  their  breasts,  but  freely  give  them  up  to  their 
country. 

This,  the  first  meeting  of  the  campaign,  was  an  unprece 
dented  success,  sending  enthusiasm  and  hope  down  through 
every  subsequent  gathering  to  the  day  of  election.  A  news 
paper  of  the  following  morning  thus  describes  the  occasion: 

Such  a  mass  of  human  heads,  such  a  sea  of  upturned  faces,  from  gal 
lery,  dress-circle,  parquette  and  stage,  never  before  greeted  orator  or  exhibi 
tion  in  that  building  —  and  all  with  very  little  preliminary  effort.  No  gun 
was  fired,  no  drum  beat,  no  instrument,  brazen  or  otherwise,  gave  out  its 
noise  to  attract  a  crowd.  The  simple  newspaper  and  hand-bill  announce 
ment  that  "  Hon.  Matt.  H.  Carpenter  would  speak,"  was  all  there  was  of  it. 
And  we  are  not  sure  but  as  many  went  away,  utterly  unable  to  get  sitting 
or  standing  room,  as  remained. 

CIRCUMCISION  WITHOUT  REGENERATION. 

During  the  latter  part  of  September,  1864,  a  large  num 
ber  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Green  county  signed  a  paper 
inviting  Carpenter  to  "  deliver  an  address  to  the  Union  men 
of  Green  county  upon  the  leading  issues  of  the  day  and  the 
duty  of  the  hour."  He  replied: 

MILWAUKEE,  Oct.  4,  1864. 
JOHN  A.  BRIGHAM,  ESQ.,  and  others: 

Gentlemen  —  Yours  of  the  ist  instant,  inviting  me  to  address  the  Union 
men  of  your  county  at  Monroe,  on  the  i7th,  is  received.  Three  or  four 
courts  claim  my  attendance  this  month.  I  have  no  partner,  and  my  clerk 
is  in  an  eastern  state  rendering  the  last  rites  of  affection  and  respect  at  the 
grave  of  a  brother  slain  by  treason;  and  thus  I  am  literally  alone. 

Besides,  Green  county,  and  Rock  and  Walworth,  are  all  right.  They 
need  no  rallying  to  the  duty  of  patriotism ;  "  the  whole  need  not  a  physi 
cian."  What  little  I  can  do,  if  anything,  towards  rousing  the  people,  I 
ought  to  do  nearer  home.  In  this  congressional  district  General  Halbert 
E.  Paine,  one  of  the  noblest  and  bravest  of  men,  is  running  against  John 
W.  Cary,  Esq.,  one  of  the  yet  impenitent  makers  of  the  Ryan  address; 
who  would,  if  elected,  do  all  in  his  power  to  paralyze  the  efforts  of  the 
government  in  prosecuting  the  war;  who  would  vote  for  immediate  cessa 
tion  of  hostilities,  knowing  that  thereby  only  rebels  would  prosper,  and 
disunion  and  national  disgrace  would  be  the  sure  consequence  of  such  folly. 


236  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

There  is  but  one  issue,  and  that  rises  transcendent  above  all  party  ties  or 
duties.  The  government  must  be  preserved  by  overthrowing  this  Rebell 
ion,  or  it  is  immaterial  whether  democrats  or  republicans  prevail ;  for  we 
shall  all  be  overwhelmed  in  common  ruin.  The  rebels  propose  no  argu 
ment,  offer  no  reason.  They  have  appealed  from  courts,  from  congresses, 
from  ail  peaceful  arbitrament  to  the  dire  trial  by  battle;  and  in  the  field  we 
must  meet  them  or  cower  and  flee  before  them.  There  is  but  one  remedy  — 
the  sword,  ivell  laid  on. 

I  hoped  last  fall  that  the  democratic  party  —  temporarily  all  wrong  —  would 
rise  from  its  defeat  a  better  and  a  wiser  party.  But  the  event  has  not  ful 
filled  the  hope.  The  Chicago  platform  is  even  worse,  because  briefer  and 
plainer,  than  the  Ryan  address.  The  democratic  party  has  submitted  to 
circumcision  but  has  experienced  no  regeneration.  It  must  take  one  more 
bitter  draught.  Democrats  who  cherish  its  historic  glory,  and  firmly  be 
lieve  the  truth  of  its  ancient  and  essential  doctrines,  must  stand  aloof  from 
its  chastisement  and  weep  four  years  longer. 

During  that  penitential  season,  its  leaders  will  have  time  again  to  con 
sider  whether  they  will  longer  follow  the  example  and  share  the  fate  of  the 
Hartford  convention  of  federalists,  or  return  to  early  teachings,  and  emu 
late  the  patriotic  devotion  of  their  political  fathers. 

Give  my  greeting  to  the  Union  men  of  Old  Green,  and  I  will  wait  for 
them  to  respond  at  the  polls.  MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 

This  letter  takes  all  the  stings  out  of  the  Reed  letter  of  the 
year  before,  regarding  both  as  political  enunciations,  which 
they  were  not.  When  the  Reed  letter  was  written  there  was 
no  political  struggle  pending,  and  Carpenter,  unable  to 
smother  all  his  love  for  those  principles  which  made  demo 
crats  honorable  before  the  days  of  Buchanan  and  secession, 
and  hoping,  no  doubt,  to  win  them  from  the  dangerous  paths 
they  were  treading,  paid  a  provisional  tribute  to  his  early  polit 
ical  tenets;  but  when  the  letter  to  John  A.  Brigham  was 
written,  there  was  pending  a  presidential  campaign  between 
two  parties,  standing  upon  opposing  platforms,  and  he  must 
choose  between  them.  The  proviso  demanded  of  the  demo 
crats  as  necessary  to  earn  public  confidence  had  been  violated 
or  neglected,  and  he  demonstrated  his  consistency  by  acting 
with  that  partisan  organization  whose  platform  and  principles 
came  nearest  to  conforming  with  his  ideas  of  patriotism  and 
a  successful  war  policy,  namely,  the  republican  or  Union 
party. 


THE   ANCIENT   SPRINGS.  237 


THE  ANCIENT  SPRINGS. 

The  war-democrats  of  Rock  county  signed  a  letter  praying 
Carpenter  to  deliver  an  address  at  a  meeting  to  be  held  in 
Janesville,  November  7,  1864.  He  replied: 

MILWAUKEE,  Oct.  24,  1864. 
A.  HYATT  SMITH,  Esq.,  and  others: 

Gentlemen  —  Yours  of  the  22d  instant  is  received,  and  I  most  cheerfully 
accept  jour  kind  invitation. 

Amid  the  perils  and  persecutions  that  assailed  the  early  church,  a  faithful 
few  remained  obedient  to  the  Christian  faith;  and  in  loneliness  and  sorrow, 
in  separation  and  exile,  deserted  by  leaders,  and  in  perils  "  by  false  breth 
ren,"  followed  the  precepts  of  the  great  teacher,  and,  strengthened  by  per 
secutions,  rallied  and  advanced  to  evangelize  the  world. 

Democracy,  the  hand-maid  of  religion,  whose  golden  rule  —  equality  of 
rights,  and  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number  —  second  only,  in 
sublimity  and  beneficence,  to  the  golden  rule  of  our  holy  religion,  is  novr 
suffering  its  trial  season;  and  ou/  faith  in  truth,  in  justice,  and  in  the  intel 
ligence  and  patriotism  of  the  great  masses  of  the  people,  is  our  only  guid 
ing  star  amid  the  gloom  that  surrounds  us.  They  who  ought  to  have  been 
our  leaders,  whose  counsels  should  have  pointed  the  democracy  to  the  war 
path,  are  crying  peace,  disgraceful,  disastrous  peace;  beckoning  the  democ 
racy  away  from  the  field  of  duty,  danger,  and  glory,  and  leading  us  with 
unerring  certainty  to  the  graves  where  federalism  and  whiggery  are  rotting 
in  their  shrouds.  In  their  platform,  in  their  speeches,  from  their  press,  no 
word  of  cheer,  no  hopefulness,  no  exultation;  no  word  of  encouragement  to 
our  brave  army;  no  pledge  of  assistance  to  our  tormented  government;  no 
condemnation  of  rebellion  and  treason.  The  faction  that  controlled  the 
Chicago  convention  belied  the  history  of  our  party,  and  disgraced  its 
name.  It  has  no  claim  to  the  support  of  democrats.  Where  is  the  young 
ardor  of  patriotism,  the  hopeful  endeavor,  the  "  public  defiance  "  of  danger, 
that  made  the  glory  of  democracy,  and  challenged  the  admiration  of  the 
world?  Gone  —  all  gone.  And  instead,  we  have  in  the  platform  an  indict 
ment  of  our  government  as  bitter  as  Jeff.  Davis  could  draft;  we  are  told 
that  circumcised  brokers  are  the  only  proper  guardians  of  the  labor  and 
muscle  of  the  country;  that  Grant,  Sherman  and  Sheridan  must  stand 
aside,  and  negotiators,  red,  not  with  blood,  but  tape,  must  lead  our  armies; 
that  the  white  flag  is  our  proper  ensign ;  and  that  these  rebels,  who  have 
betrayed  and  ruined  our  party,  and  threaten  to  overthrow  the  government, 
must  be  soothed  and  entreated;  and  if  they  must  be  enveloped  in  smoke,  it 
must  proceed  not  from  the  fire  of  battle,  but  the  pipe  of  peace.  Democracy 
has  at  all  times  held  other  language  to  its  own  and  the  nation's  enemies. 


238  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

To  all  this  craven  crying  for  peace  let  me  quote  from  the  eloquent,  patri 
otic  and  soul-moving  speech  of  Hon.  Jonathan  E.  Arnold  in  the  Janesville 
convention  a  year  ago.  Speaking  of  the  idea  that  we  must  hold  out  the 
olive  branch  of  peace  to  these  rebels,  Mr.  Arnold  said :  "  Now,  gentlemen, 
how  utterly  futile  is  any  such  idea?  How  disloyal  any  such  proposition.  Will 
the  south  listen  to  offers  of  peace?  Who  has  intimated  it?  What  public 
paper  has  proclaimed  it,  or  what  leading  statesman  of  the  south  has  sug 
gested  it?  Not  one.  On  the  contrary,  they  have  said  no  terms  of  peace 
would  ever  be  listened  to  except  based  upon  .the  recognition  of  their  inde 
pendence.  Why,  then,  should  tve  hold  out  the  olive  branch  of  peace?  In  addi 
tion  to  what  they  have  said,  there  is  the  undeniable  fact  that  they  have  an 
immense  army  in  the  field  which  must  be  put  down  if  this  Rebellion  be 
ever  crushed."  Arid  again,  "  What  we  want,  then,  is  to  whip  the  enemy; 
that  is  to  be  done  by  soldiers  in  the  field.  Hence  I  say  it  is  -wrong  to  talk 
of  ending  this  Rebellion  by  propositions  of  peace.  I  trust  in  God  the  time 
will  come  when  we  may  hold  out  the  olive  branch,  but  that  must  be  after 
Charleston  and  Mobile  have  been  taken  and  the  army  of  Virginia  has  been 
whipped? 

It  is  understood  Mr.  Arnold  has  left  us,  seeing  his  duty  at  present  in  sup 
port  of  McClellan  and  defense  of  the  Chicago  platform;  but,  thank  God,  he 
has  not  taken  this  noble  speech  ivith  him.  That  remains  to  us,  an  imperishable 
lesson  of  patriotic  duty,  which  it  should  be  our  highest  ambition  to  cherish 
and  execute. 

I  will  be  with  you  on  the  yth  of  November.  Then  we  will  consult 
together  of  our  duty  in  these  perilous  times,  renew  our  pledge  to  the  only 

faith,  and  drink  again  at  the  ancient  springs. 

MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 

He  was  present  as  promised  and  made  a  rousing  speech. 


RECONSTRUCTION  —  NEGRO   SUFFRAGE.  239 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

RECONSTRUCTION— NEGRO  SUFFRAGE. 

Carpenter  was  able  to  take  but  little  part  in  the  campaign 
of  1865.  He  was  engaged  in  the  Hasbrouck  suit  and  in  de 
fending  ex-Governor  Edward  Salomon  in  the  action  brought, 
as  we  have  seen,  by  John  Druecker,  of  Ozaukee  county,  for 
alleged  false  imprisonment.  While  not  thus  engaged,  he  was 
in  Washington  attending  to  his  railway  litigation.  However, 
he  attracted  the  attention  of  the  statesmen  and  jurists  of  the 
republic  by  a  series  of  interrogations  upon  Negro  suffrage 
and  the  reconstruction  of  the  south. 

Brigadier-General  William  T.  Sherman,  upon  invitation, 
was  present  at  the  Wisconsin  state  fair  held  at  Janesville.  On 
the  evening  of  September  2pth,  at  the  close  of  the  fair,  a  ban 
quet  was  given  in  his  honor.  About  a  hundred  distinguished 
men  were  present.  Governor  James  T.  Lewis  presided,  with 
General  Sherman  on  his  right  and  Carpenter  on  his  left. 
Numerous  toasts  met  with  patriotic  responses,  Carpenter 
being  called  upon  to  reply  to  "  The  loyal  American  people, 
always  faithful  to  the  Union."  He  had  a  noble  audience  — 
generals,  governors,  ex-governors,  United  States  senators, 
philosophers,  judges,  politicians  and  patriots  —  and  his  utter 
ances  secured  profound  attention.  Indeed  they  were  so  re 
markable  that  a  petition  numerously  signed  was  dispatched 
praying  for  a  copy  of  them  for  publication.  After  declaring 
that  he  spoke  for  the  people,  being  neither  a  partisan  nor  a 
politician,  he  said: 

One  of  the  war-democrats  of  Wisconsin,  I  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the 
great  Union  organization  formed  to  sustain  the  government  in  the  vigorous 
prosecution  of  the  war,  and  the  war  being  over,  I  am  entitled  to  an  honor 
able  discharge,  and  to  be  mustered  out  of  the  service  of  that  organization. 
I  have  not  yet  applied  for  re-admission  into  the  democratic  party,  from 
which  I  was  expelled  with  indignant  emphasis,  on  suspicion  of  the  un« 
speakable  and  unpardonable  crime  of  patriotism. 


240  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER.. 

Then,  paying  a  splendid  tribute  to  the  people  who,  in 
agony  and  bloody-sweat,  had  carried  the  nation  safely 
through  all  its  trials,  he  took  up  the  great  subjects  of  recon 
struction  and  Negro  suffrage,  addressing  himself  pointedly  to 
Senators  Howe  and  Doolittle,  who  were  present.  He  held 
that  the  southern  states,  by  their  treason  and  rebellion,  had 
gone  out  of  the  Union  —  destroyed  their  former  governments 
and  become,  public  enemies,  which,  upon  being  conquered, 
were  liable  to  be  reconstructed  and  governed  in  any  manner 
deemed  advisable  by  the  conquering  power.  This  being 
his  first  discussion  of  those  stupendous  questions  which  sub 
sequently  made  him  famous  —  his  theories  becoming  the 
reconstruction  policy  of  the  federal  government  —  a  portion, 
at  least,  of  his  original  reasoning  should  be  preserved: 

It  is  said  and  admitted  that  the  constitution  declares  that  the  general  gov 
ernment,  and  its  relation  to  the  states,  and  their  relation  to  it,  and  to  each 
other,  as  fixed  by  the  constitution,  shall  remain  forever,  and  that  it  is  a 
crime  to  change  those  relations.  But  is  it  true  that  a  crime  against  the 
constitution  can  not  be  committed?  The  constitution  forbade,  but  did  it 
prevent  the  Rebellion?  Is  it  true  that  a  state  of  things  established  by  com 
petent  authority  must  remain  until  changed  by  the  same  authority?  It  is 
said  the  last  order  General  Banks  gave  on  the  Red  River  was  to  form  the 
line  of  battle;  is  that  battle  line  still  existing,  and  will  it  require  an  act  of 
congress  or  an  order  from  General  Banks  to  remove  it?  The  state  com 
mands  us  to  do  no  murder;  does  it  follow  that  no  murder  can  be  committed, 
or  that  the  state  can  not  regard  and  punish  it?  It  is  true  that  treason  of  an 
individual  is  contemplated  and  punished  by  law;  it  is  true  that  rebellion  by 
a  state  is  not  contemplated;  but  does  it  follow  that  rebellion  by  a  state  can 
not  be  regarded,  and  all  its  consequences  must  be  disregarded  because  its 
precise  punishment  is  not  fixed  by  law?  Suppose  the  state  of  Mississippi 
alone  had  rebelled,  and  persisted  in  war  until  the  state  was  completely  des 
olated,  depopulated ;  would  the  barren  and  unoccupied  square  miles  geo 
graphically  called  Mississippi  remain  the  state  of  Mississippi  within  the 
meaning  of  the  word  state  as  used  in  the  constitution ;  and  would  those 
square  miles  have  remained  in  precisely  the  same  relations  with  the  gen 
eral  government  as  the  state  of  New  York? 

There  is  another  subject,  which,  from  its  exceeding  importance,  ought  to 
be  mentioned  in  this  connection ;  and,  although  a  candidate  would  as  soon 
see  the  devil  as  hear  any  allusion  to  it,  the  people  are  anxious  to  hear  their 
senators  discuss  the  question  of  Negro  suffrage. 


RECONSTRUCTION  —  NEGRO   SUFFRAGE.  24! 

Are  the  freedmen  to  be  admitted  en  masse  as  voters  upon  all  subjects, 
and  made  eligible  to  the  highest  offices  of  responsibility  and  trust?  Such 
are  not  the  precedents  of  history.  The  old  Roman  who  manumitted  his 
slave,  struck  off  his  gyves,  clothed  him  in  white  and  placed  the  cap  of  lib' 
erty  upon  his  brow.  He  was  then  a  freeman,  but  not  a  citizen  of  Rome, 
though  he  might  thereafter  become  a  citizen.  But  suppose  we  of  Wiscon 
sin  are  all  in  favor  of  Negro  suffrage,  all  vote  for  it  here;  how  are  we  to 
regulate  the  subject  in  Mississippi?  Can  the  general  government  declare 
who  shall  be  voters  or  eligible  to  office  in  the  state?  Must  not  that  subject 
be  regulated  by  the  state  itself,  if  we  intend  hereafter  to  have  any  states? 
It  is  idle  to  contend  for  mere  general  principles  or  abstract  and  barren 
declarations  of  right;  we  want  some  practical  views  leading  to  practical 
ends.  This  subject  must  be  met  by  our  statesmen,  and  must  be  treated  in 
a  manly  and  statesmanlike  way.  It  is  useless  to  appeal  to  our  prejudices; 
we  can  not  be  intimidated  by  denunciation,  nor  silenced  by  an  adjective.  The 
war  has  induced  a  new  state  of  things;  those  who  were  slaves  are  now 
freemen.  Many  of  them  will  accumulate  property;  all  must  be  subject  to 
some  government  having  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction  over  them.  To 
say  that  his  property  should  be  taxed  to  support  the  government,  and  his 
person  drafted  into  the  army  to  defend  it,  and  yet  he  shall  have  no  voice  in 
making  the  laws,  nor  vote  upon  the  question  of  peace  or  war,  nor  have 
protection  for  his  person  and  property,  is  to  say  that  he  shall  remain  a 
slave  in  fact,  no  matter  by  what  name  called. 

But  suppose  you  could  give  the  freedmen  the  right  to  vote;  is  not  the 
right  to  sue  (to  say  nothing  of  the  privilege  of  being  sued),  the  right  to 
testify  as  a  witness  in  courts  of  justice,  and  many  other  things,  as  indis 
pensable  to  the  Negro  as  the  right  to  vote?  Can  the  general  government 
compel  the  states  to  perform  these  necessary  things?  Suppose  these  un 
welcome  provisions  were  forced  into  the  constitutions  of  all  the  southern 
states,  iv/io  is  to  expound  and  administer  them?  Would  you  not  thus  secure 
to  the  freedman  a  barren  and  useless  declaration  of  his  rights,  and  leave 
the  states  to  regard  them  as  they  pleased?  To  carry  these  provisions  into 
practice,  would  it  not  be  necessary  to  abolish  the  machinery  of  state  govern 
ments,  and  for  the  general  government  to  take  to  itself  all  local  as  well  as 
general  administration;  and  would  not  this  concentrate  power  to  such  an 
extent  as  greatly  to  endanger  popular  liberty  ? 

By  the  basis  of  representation  as  fixed  by  the  constitution,  five  slaves 
were  equal  to  three  freemen;  so  that  the  south  will  gain  two-fifths  in 
representation  by  the  abolition  of  slavery.  Ought  the  southern  states  to 
represent  millions  of  freemen  who  have  no  voice  in  the  government? 
Would  a  state  in  which  the  number  of  black  freemen  exceeded  the  number 
of  whites,  and  which  was  represented  only  by  the  whites,  be  such  a  repub 
lican  government  as  the  constitution  makes  it  the  duty  of  the  Union  to 
16 


242  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

guaranty  to  each  state?  Could  not  the  houses  of  congress  exclude  senators 
and  representatives  thus  elected  by  a  minority  of  freemen? 

The  people  are  strongly  attached  to  the  doctrine  that  every  state  has  the 
right  to  regulate  its  own  affairs  and  determine  who  shall  and  shall  not  con 
stitute  a  part  of  the  state  community,  and  vote  or  be  eligible  to  office.  But 
when  a  state  has  settled  this  question  for  itself,  it  must  abide  the  result  of 
that  determination  in  all  its  federal  relations.  If  South  Carolina  decides 
that  the  blacks  of  that  state  are  not  citizens,  though  born  upon  her  soil, 
then  she  should  not  be  permitted  to  represent  them  in  congress.  This  is  a 
matter  that  concerns  the  Union  at  large,  and  the  Union  may  therefore  settle  it. 

Would  not  the  Negro,  if  thus  rejected  by  the  states,  become  the  -ward  of  the 
government^  and,  like  the  Indian,  be  entitled  to  claim  its  protection?  Could 
not  congress  legislate  for  him  in  all  his  relation^,  secure  to  him  the  wages 
of  labor,  and  fix  the  conditions  upon  which  he  may  become  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States?  This  would  involve  the  necessity  of  establishing  national 
courts  for  administering  justice  between  black  and  white  men.  What  else 
is  the  Freedmen's  Bureau?  The  constitution  provides  for  no  such  thing, 
but  it  has  been  forced  upon  the  government  by  the  necessity  of  the  case. 
Justice  must  be  administered  between  black  and  white  men  upon  terms  of 
absolute  equality;  contracts  must  be  construed  and  judgments  enforced  re 
gardless  of  the  complexion  of  the  parties;  and  both  or  neither  must  be  per 
mitted  to  testify  in  such  causes. 

The  objection  most  likely  to  be  argued  to  this  view  of  the  subject  is,  that 
it  is  not  provided  for  by  the  constitution.  But  does  not  this  objection 
apply  equally  to  every  remedy  that  has  been  suggested?  Revolutions  go 
forward;  public  men  and  public  policy  must  look  to  the  future  and  not 
to  the  past.  The  constitution  was  framed  with  great  wisdom  for  the  then 
existing  condition  of  things.  It  regulated  public  and  private  rights  grow 
ing  out  of  the  institution  of  slavery.  But  we  are  all  agreed  that  there  shall 
be  no  more  slavery;  and  the  constitution  must  be  amended  to  suit  this  altered 
state  of  affairs.  Our  whole  system  rests  upon  the  theory  that  the  states  are 
to  be  trusted  with  local  administration  over  their  own  citizens.  This  can 
not  be  disregarded  without  demolishing  the  whole  fabric  of  our  nationality. 
This  principle  is  the  corner-stone  upon  which  everything  rests.  But  may 
it  not  be  preserved,  and  the  constitution  be  so  amended  as  to  give  the  gen 
eral  government  control  over  the  Negro  as  it  now  has  over  the  Indian? 
Provision  might  be  made  that  whenever  any  Negro  should  be  admitted  to 
citizenship  in  the  state  in  which  he  resided,  he  should  be  thus  transferred 
to  state  jurisdiction.  Our  own  state  constitution  provides  that  whenever 
an  Indian  shall  separate  from  his  tribe  and  adopt  the  habits  of  civilized 
life,  he  shall  be  entitled  to  vote.  Would  not  this  arrangement  strongly  in 
duce  the  southern  states  to  admit  Negroes  to  citizenship,  as  rapidly  as  con 
sistent  with  domestic  interests,  and  at  the  same  time  accomplish  more  fully 


THE   VOTARIES   OF   "  MY   POLICY.  243 

than  any  other  method  the  great  duty  we  owe,  and  can  not  disregard  with 
out  national  disgrace,  of  protecting  these  freedmen  who  have  shed  their 
blood  in  defense  of  the  nation's  existence,  against  the  malice  and  oppression 
of  their  angry  and  baffled  masters? 

THE  VOTARIES  OF  "MY  POLICY," 

In  1866,  the  country  was  excited  over  the  conflict  between 
President  Andrew  Johnson  and  the  Union  (republican)  party 
in  congress  as  to  reconstructing  the  states  lately  in  rebellion. 
James  R.  Doolittle,  elected  by  the  republicans  to  represent 
Wisconsin  in  the  United  States  senate,  had  "  Johnsonized." 
Ex-Governor  Alex.  W.  Randall  had  also  "Johnsonized,"  and 
both  were  receiving  the  people's  anathemas  of  indignation* 
Both  attempted  to  defend  themselves,  and  in  a  public  speech 
Randall  declared  the  friends  of  congress  dare  not  meet  the 
friends  of  Johnson  in  public  debate.  Thereupon,  James  B> 
Cassoday,  A.  M.  Thomson,  Ithamer  C.  Sloan  and  other 
leading  citizens  petitioned  Carpenter  to  meet  Doolittle  for 
joint  discussion.  He  answered: 

MILWAUKEE,  Sept.  to,  1866. 
A.  M.  THOMSON,  ESQ.,  and  others: 

Gentlemen  —  Yours  of  the  8th,  in  regard  to  a  public  discussion  between 
myself  and  Senator  Doolittle,  is  received;  and,  in  reply,  I  would  say  that 
on  any  day  after  the  25th  inst,  and  before  the  election,  it  will  give  me 
pleasure  to  comply  with  your  request. 

I  am  principally  induced  to  accept  your  invitation  because  I  regard  it  as 
a  matter  of  justice  to  Senator  Doolittle.  The  loyal  Union  men  of  Wiscon 
sin,  who  elected  Mr.  Doolittle  to  the  senate,  believe  he  has  betrayed  them; 
while  he  claims,  I  believe,  that  he  has  not  changed,  but  the  people  have 
deserted  him.  A  public  discussion  before  an  audience  composed  of  all 
shades  of  political  sentiment  is  the  best  and  fairest  occasion  for  determining 
whether  the  senator  or  the  people  have  taken  the  side-track  in  politics;  who 
is  true  and  who  is  false  to  the  principles  we  all  advocated  during  the  war. 
Therefore,  should  Senator  Doolittle  desire  such  discussion — as  I  have  no 
doubt  he  will  —  I  should  feel  bound  to  accommodate  him,  under  the  peculiar 
circumstances. 

Again,  I  regard  discussions,  where  different  speakers  are  brought  face  to 
face,  as  the  fairest  method  of  conducting  any  canvass.  It  is  necessary  for 
the  people  to  hear  and  consider  both  sides  before  they  can  form  an  intelli 
gent  judgment.  The  issues  presented  during  the  war  were  not  more 
important,  or  even  vital,  to  our  national  existence  and  to  civil  liberty  itself, 


244  L1FE   OF   CARPENTER. 

than  those  which  constitute  the  problems  of  peace.  The  people  must  settle 
these  questions;  they  hold  the  destinies  of  the  constitution  and  the  Union. 
It  is  for  them  to  say  whether  unrepentant,  unpardoned  rebels  and  traitors 
are  the  safest  repositories  of  the  power  ot  the  government,  or  whether  they 
should  be  invited  —  nay,  compelled  —  "to  take  back  seats  "  in  the  recon 
struction  of  civil  governments.  It  is  for  the  people  to  say  whether  the 
congress  shall  remain  the  law-making  department  of  the  government,  and 
the  President  the  executive  of  their  will,  as  expressed  in  the  laws  passed  by 
them,  or  whether  congress  shall  hereafter  be  regarded  as  a  voluntary  con 
vention  of  individuals  "on  the  verge  of  the  government,"  whose  acts  only 
are  valid  when  they  echo  the  will  and  perform  the  bidding  of  the  President. 

It  has  ever  been  the  American  theory  that  power  is  more  safely  lodged 
in  the  many  than  the  few  —  in  the  congress  than  with  the  President.  But 
all  this  is  now  questioned;  and  the  President  in  his  late  tour  —  in  which  he 
has  seen  fit  to  turn  the  sad  solemnities  of  a  funeral  into  the  violence  of  a 
political  raid,  thus  giving  the  people  fresh  cause  for  regretting  the  death  of 
Douglas,  which  has  furnished  such  an  unfortunate  occasion  —  the  Presi 
dent  is  cautioning  the  people  against  the  danger  of  tyranny  and  despotism 
from  the  representatives  of  their  own  selection,  asserting  that  nothing  but 
his  virtue  has  prevented  his  becoming  dictator  long  since,  and  assuring  the 
people  that  he  is  their  friend,  and  the  only  safe  repository  of  public  confi 
dence  and  political  power.  So  Augustus  consummated  the  usurpations 
that  his  kindness  had  commenced,  with  the  sword,  and  overthrew  the  liber 
ties  of  Rome  under  the  forms  of  law.  So  Cromwell  first  declared  the  par 
liament  an  illegal  body  "  on  the  verge  of  the  government"  and  then  dispersed 
them  with  bayonets.  So  Napoleon,  as  first  consul,  gradually  acquired  all 
power  and  subverted  the  liberties  of  France.  It  is  for  the  people  to  con 
sider  whether  the  President,  in  his  protestation  that  the  people  are  enslaved, 
and  he  is  their  friend,  laboring  for  their  emancipation,  is  acting  sincerely 
and  wisely,  or  playing  the  role  that  all  usurpers  have  played  since  Caesar 
crossed  the  Rubicon.  These  are  mighty  considerations,  pregnant  with 
good  or  evil  for  us  and  for  all  generations. 

By  all  means  give  the  senator  a  chance  to  satisfy  us  thnt  what  we  believe 
to  be  truth  is  really  falsehood;  that  what  we  deem  security  is  really  danger; 
that  congress  can  not  be  trusted  and  that  the  President  can  be;  that  loyalty 
is  unconstitutional  and  traito  -s  entitled  to  seats  in  congress  and  the  cabinet. 
It  is  due  to  him,  due  to  ourselves,  due  to  justice  and  civil  liberty,  to  hear 
all  that  can  be  said.  The  senator  is  the  President's  special  representative; 
he  will  speak  by  authority.  It  will  therefore  be  in  his  power  to  allay  a 
painful  public  apprehension  of  future  danger  if  the  fact  be  otherwise;  and 
if,  after  a  full  hearing  and  fair  chance,  he  fails  to  do  this,  his  failure  will 
be  of  public  service  by  tending  to  arouse  the  people  to  guard  against  or 
meet  and  overcome  future  troubles. 

Very  respectfully,  MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 


IMMORTAL    LOGIC.  245 

Mr.  Doolittle  also  received  a  petition  begging  him  to  meet 
Carpenter.  He  declined,  but  issued  a  circular  just  as  he  left 
the  state,  which  called  out  this  reply: 

MILWAUKEE,  Sept  n,  1866. 
MESSRS.  B.  B.  NORTHROP  and  others,  Racine: 

Gentlemen  —  I  have  received  what  purports  to  be  a  printed  circular  pub 
lished  by  Hon.  J.  R.  Doolittle,  in  which  he  addresses  you  as  follows: 

"  GENTLEMEN  :  — Your  note  is  received  asking  me  to  join  in  a  political  dis 
cussion  with  Matt.  H.  Carpenter,  Esq.,  of  Milwaukee,  upon  the  policy  of 
reconstruction  maintained  by  the  administration  and  the  National  Union 
party. 

"  My  engagements  to  speak  in  the  states  of  Indiana,  Ohio  and  Pennsylva 
nia  will  render  it  impossible  for  me  to  make  any  such  arrangement. 

"  I  am  not  a  little  surprised  that  Mr.  Carpenter's  name  should  be  used,  for 
not  long  ago,  in  Washington,  he  indorsed,  in  the  most  unequivocal  terms, 
the  President's  policy,  and  urged  me  to  stand  firmly  by  him." 

I  can  well  conceive  that  the  senator  would  be  surprised  to  hear  that  any 
man  had  changed  his  political  views.  I  well  remember  my  own  surprise 
when  the  senator  turned  his  back  upon  all  his  former  opinions  and  profes 
sions  and  went  over  to  the  republicans;  and  my  still  greater  surprise  when 
he  abandoned  the  Union  organization  that  had  elected  him  to  the  senate 
and  went  over  to  the  camp  of  his  "captured"  copperheads.  But  in  this  in 
stance  the  senator's  surprise  is  manufactured  for  a  purpose. 

The  senator's  chronic  habit  of  publishing  private  conversations  involves 
nothing  but  a  breach  of  good  breeding,  but  it  is  something  worse  when,  as 
in  this  instance,  the  conversation  has  to  be  first  invented.  I  never  ex 
changed  a  word  with  Senator  Doolittle  in  regard  to  the  President's  policy  — 
approving  or  disapproving;  I  never  urged  him  to  stand  firmly  by  the 
President;  I  never  requested  him  to  desert  and  betray  the  President,  as  he 
surely  will  when  treachery  becomes  more  profitable  than  fealty,  and  the  state 
ment  of  his  circular  in  that  behalf  is  utterly  untrue. 

Considering,  however,  the  result  that  has  followed  the  senator's  mission 
ary  labors  in  Maine,  I  think  it  would  be  unwise  to  throw  any  obstacle  in 
the  way  of  his  stumping  Indiana,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania  and  such  other  states 
as  it  may  be  convenient  for  him  to  visit 

Respectfully  yours,  MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 

IMMORTAL  LOGIC. 

As  all  efforts  to  induce  any  of  Johnson's  supporters  to  meet 
Carpenter  failed,  a  paper  containing  the  signatures  of  hun 
dreds  of  influential  citizens  was  sent  to  him,  asking  "  the  pleas- 


246  LIFE   OF  CARPENTER. 

ure  of  hearing  his  views."  He  replied  favorably,  and  appeared 
at  the  Academy  of  Music  in  Milwaukee  on  the  evening  of  Oc 
tober  4,  1866.  There  was  present  a  brilliant  audience — the 
wealth,  beauty,  patriotism  and  brains  of  the  community.  In 
that  speech  he  outlined  the  arguments  subsequently  made  in 
the  McCardle  case,  and  laid  down  the  principles  on  which 
all  the  reconstruction  acts  of  congress  were  based. 

.In  the  light  of  succeeding  events  it  was  a  remarkable 
address.  He  delineated  the  policy  of  Johnson  and  that  of  the 
Union  members  of  congress  so  clearly  that  a  child  ten  years 
of  age  could  understand  either.  Johnson's  plan  was  to  admit 
the  senators  and  representatives  of  the  de  facto  governments 
of  the  lately  rebellious  states,  ask  no  questions  about  the 
past,  require  no  guaranties  for  the  future.  The  plan  of  con 
gress  did  not  recognize  the  President  as  having  authority  in 
the  premises,  but  formulated  an  amendment l  to  the  United 
States  constitution,  which  the  rebellious  states  must  ratify 
before  re-entering  the  Union.  Carpenter  argued  at  length 
that  "  the  constitution  in  no  instance  clothes  the  executive 
with  power  over  or  a  right  to  interfere  with  the  states.  That 
whenever  that  power  is  granted,  it  is  vested  in  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States,  and  not  in  the  President." 
Further: 

When  Lee  and  Johnston  surrendered,  the  usurping  state  governments 
•were  overthrown  and  the  people  in  those  localities  were  left  without  any 
state  corporations.  This  was  one  of  the  "extraordinary"  occasions  mentioned 
in  the  constitution,  in  which  the  President  would  have  been  justified  in 
calling  an  extra  session  of  congress.  *  *  Congress  would  have  made  such 
laws  as  the  occasion  demanded,  and  it  would  have  been  the  President's  duty 
to  execute  them.  *  *  Instead  of  this,  he  assumed  to  control  this  matter 
according  to  his  individual  views,  and  proceeded  without  sanction  of  law  to 
dictate  to  the  southern  states  the  terms  of  re-admission.  *  *  Congress 
met  and  thought  other  terms  should  be  imposed ;  and  he,  instead  of  yield 
ing  gracefully  to  the  people  as  expressed  by  congress,  *  *  attempted  to 
defy  their  laws  by  vetoes ;  and  denouncing  their  leaders  as  traitors,  appealed 
to  the  people  to  sustain  his  usurpations. 

1  The  fourteenth  amendment,  subsequently  adopted,  but  suggested  by 
Carpenter  more  than  a  year  before. 


IMMORTAL   LOGIC.  247 

He  then,  after  quoting  the  decisions  of  the  ablest  judges  in 
America  to  sustain  his  theory  that  the  President  had  no 
power  over  the  states,  proceeded  to  examine  the  conditions 
congress  proposed  to  impose  upon  the  soutli  preparatory  to 
re-admission  to  the  Union.  He  claimed  that  congress,  under 
the  constitution,  had  this  power  beyond  a  doubt,  the  only 
question  being  as  to  the  wisdom  of  the  conditions.  He  argued: 

In  1862  and  1863  there  was  in  North  Carolina  a  de  facto  state  govern 
ment —  and  but  one;  making  laws,  administering  justice,  exercising  all  the 
powers  of  a  sovereign  community,  and  actually  levying  war  upon  the 
United  States.  No~w  was  that  state  government  of  North  Carolina  during 
those  years,  and  'while  so  levying -war,  entitled  to  be  represented  in  congress? 

It  was  certainly  not  the  same  state  government  that  became  a  member  of 
the  Union  by  ratifying  the  constitution,  and  remained  in  the  Union  until 
sometime  in  1860  or  1861.  On  the  contrary  it  had  supplanted  the  old  state 
government  in  every  respect.  Its  officers  were  sworn  not  to  support,  but  to 
overthrow  the  constitution  of  the  United  States.  It  had  no  relations, 
and  under  its  constitution  could  have  none,  with  the  United  States.  Every 
officer  of  that  state  government  would  have  been  guilty  of  treason  to  it, 
had  he  performed  any  of  the  duties  towards  the  United  States  that  the  con 
stitution  of  the  old  state  government  enjoined  upon  its  officers.  The  new 
state  had  never  been  admitted  into  the  Union ;  and  of  course  could  not  be, 
for  its  constitution  was  in  deadly  antagonism  with  the  constitution  of  the 
Union.  The  new  state  government  was  formed  upon  the  ruins  of  the  old, 
and  instead  of  claiming  fellowship  with  the  Union,  had  applied  for  and  re 
ceived  admission  into  another  de  facto  confederacy  of  states  which  was  at 
war  with  the  United  States. 

To  overlook  the  fact  that  eleven  such  states  existed,  exercising  sovereign 
authority  over  eight  millions  of  people,  with  a  well-defined  territory  held 
in  hostility  to  the  United  States,  and  were  actually  waging  against  our 
government,  the  most  gigantic  war  of  modern  times,  merely  because  it  was 
unconstitutional  for  them  to  do  so,  would  have  been  the  blindest  devotion  to 
an  idea  the  world  has  ever  seen ;  a  devotion  better  becoming  a  monk  in  his 
retirement,  or  a  lunatic  in  his  cell,  than  a  statesman  charged  with  the  prac 
tical  administration  of  political  affairs. 

When  the  southern  states  declared  their  purpose  to  go  out  of  the  Union, 
we  raised  an  army  and  poured  out  treasure  and  blood  to  prevent  their 
doing  what  they  threatened  to  do.  If  those  states  had  determined  to  pull  the 
sun  down  from  the  heavens  on  a  day  named,  and  leave  the  Yankee  land 
in  darkness,  we  should  not  have  raised  an  army  to  prevent  it.  We  should 
have  reposed  upon  the  knowledge  that  the  thing  was  impossible.  But 
when  they  threatened  to  divide  the  dominions  of  our  government,  and 


248  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

take  one-half,  nearly,  into  another  independent  nation,  we  raised  an  army 
to  prevent  it;  because  this  act,  though  wrongful  and  unconstitutional,  was, 
nevertheless,  possible.  We  fought  to  prevent  this  wrong,  and  succeeded. 
The  dominion  of  the  United  States  to  the  Gulf  is  vindicated,  established 
for  all  time.  But  the  terrible  result  of  the  struggle,  the  desolated  fields, 
burned  towns,  ruined  commerce  and  three  hundred  thousand  graves  of 
loyal  soldiers,  though  unconstitutional,  are  existing  facts.  And  the  mere 
theory  that  the  constitution  forbade  all  these  things,  can  no  more  resusci 
tate  the  dead  state  governments,  which  were  destroyed  by  the  madness  of 
their  people,  than  it  can  recall  to  life  our  "  noble  army  of  martyrs  "  now 
sleeping  in  southern  graves. 

No  government,  no  constitution  can  prevent  the  fact  of  murder,  rebellion 
or  treason.  But  a  government  may,  and  the  United  States  has,  vindicated 
its  authority,  and  may  visit  penal  consequences  upon  the  criminal  of 
fenders.  It  would  be  a  strange  plea  in  bar  to  an  indictment  for  murder  or 
treason,  that  the  constitution  and  laws  have  forbidden  such  an  offense; 
therefore,  in  legal  contemplation,  it  could  not  be,  and  of  course  has  not 
been,  committed. 

Illustration  of  our  subject  may  be  found  in  the  uniform  practice  of  the 
government  in  admitting  territories  as  new  states.  When  a  territory 
has  the  requisite  population,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  congress  to  admit  her 
as  a  state.  But  suppose  congress  omit  or  refuse  to  perform  this  duty;  can 
the  people  without  an  enabling  act  form  a  republican  state  government, 
and  then,  can  the  President  so  recognize  it  as  a  state  as  to  entitle  it  to  rep 
resentation  in  congress  without  the  consent  of  congress? 

Again,  we  have  seen  that  the  United  States  must  guaranty — that  is, 
take  care  —  that  every  state  has  a  republican  form  of  government.  Suppose, 
now,  that  a  constitutional  convention  should  be  regularly  convened  in  New 
York  to  change  its  constitution,  and  that  this  convention  should  declare 
Charles  O'Conor  king  (the  wisdom  of  that  selection  would  redeem  the 
folly  of  the  act)  with  power  to  name  his  successor,  and  with  power  to  ap 
point  and  remove  at  pleasure  the  members  of  the  legislature  and  the  judges 
of  the  courts,  and  should  in  every  respect  change  the  government  of  that 
state  into  the  form  of  a  monarchy,  without,  however,  interfering  with  the 
United  States,  or  nullifying  any  act  of  congress ;  without  impeding  the  post- 
office  or  hindering  the  collection  of  the  revenue;  and  after  ratification  by 
the  people,  King  Charles  I,  of  New  York,  should  be  crowned.  In  such  a 
case  the  duty  of  the  general  government  lo  interfere  would  be  plain.  But 
what  could  the  President  do  until  congress  should  pass  some  law  upon  the 
subject  for  him  to  execute?  The  condition  of  the  states  lately  in  rebellion 
is  the  same. 

Having  established,  as  he  thought,  the  power  and  expedi 
ency  of  imposing  conditions  -upon  the  south  by  congress, 


IMMORTAL   LOGIC.  249 

Carpenter  approved  the  conditions  as  described  in  the  reso 
lution  for  the  fourteenth  amendment,  then  pending.  He  de 
clared  with  great  emphasis  in  favor  of  unrestricted  suffrage 
for  the  Negro,  saying: 

Disguise  it  as  you  will,  the  late  war  was  fought  between  freedom  and 
slavery,  and,  as  was  to  be  expected,  freedom  triumphed.  As  a  consequence, 
four  million  slaves,  more  or  less,  have  become  freemen.  *  *  To  admit 
them,  degraded  by  life-long  slavery,  to  the  right  of  suffrage,  without  edu 
cation  or  discipline  of  any  kind,  is  a  severe  trial  of  our  American  principle. 
But  there  is  no  alternative.  They  must  be  admitted  or  the  principle  upon 
which  all  our  institutions  rest  must  be  abandoned.  *  *  We  now  have  a 
practical  test.  If  we  say  the  principle  is  unsound  when  absolutely  ex 
pressed;  that  certain  limitations  must  be  imposed;  certain  persons  excluded, 
then  come  the  questions,  Who  shall  be  excluded?  What  shall  be  the 
standard  of  admission  to  the  right  of  suffrage?  If  you  go  back  on  the  gen 
eral  principle,  no  man  can  say  where  disqualifications  will  end.  Different 
rules  will  be  established  in  different  states,  and  in  the  same  state  at  differ 
ent  times,  as  one  faction  or  another  gains  ascendency,  and  the  American 
principle,  the  corner-stone  of  our  political  philosophy,  will  be  gone  forever. 
*  *  But  of  all  possible  tests,  the  most  absurd  would  be  that  of  com 
plexion.  *  *  The  property  of  the  black  is  equally  subject  to  taxation 
and  his  person  subject  to  draft  in  time  of  war  as  that  of  the  white  man. 
Why  should  not  one  as  well  as  the  other  have  a  voice  in  selecting  the  offi 
cers  by  whom  his  property  is  to  be  taxed,  or  in  determining  the  question  of 
peace  or  war?  *  *  For  one  I  believe  in  the  democratic  dogma  upon 
which  our  institutions  rest;  for  one  I  am  willing  to  follow  where  demo 
cratic  principles  lead.  If  a  principle  be  sound  in  itself,  sound  as  a  principle, 
and  a  Negro  comes  within  it,  I  say  good  for  the  Negro!  *  *  All  gen 
eral  truths,  all  democratic  maxims,  must  be  of  universal  application,  as  the 
sun  shines  upon  the  just  and  the  unjust.  *  *  I  am  satisfied  liberty  is  a  bless 
ing,  and  that  all  free  men  ought  to  have  a  voice  in  their  government.  I  am 
ready  to  stand  by  the  experiment  of  extending  these  principles  to  all 
races  and  all  nations.  I  look  upon  the  future  with  confidence,  and  hope 
to  live  long  enough  to  see  universal  truths  universally  applied;  to  see  free 
black  men  exercising  equal  civil  rights  with  white  men;  to  see  Irishmen 
governing  their  own  land  as  Englishmen  govern  theirs.  *  *  Let  all  who 
love  liberty,  all  who  believe  all  men  should  be  free  and  every  nation  inde 
pendent,  labor  together.  Let  us  applaud  this  amendment  to  our  own  con 
stitution  which  congress  has  proposed  in  the  interest  of  universal  liberty, 
and  whenever  and  wherever  we  can  speak  a  word  or  give  a  vote  for  truth 
and  justice,  liberty  and  equality,  let  us  do  so,  trusting  that  in  God's  good 
time  these  principles  wilt  bear  fruit  in  every  clime  and  ransom  every  people. 


250  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

The  broad  and  noble  doctrines  of  this  speech  were  widely 
published,  though  the  newspaper  synopsis  of  them  was  no 
more  like  the  real  effort  than  a  skinned  and  disfigured  saw- 
log  is  like  the  symmetry  and  majesty  of  the  lordly  pine. 
They  were  read  and  approved  in  every  community,  and 
contributed  as  much  as  any  other  influence  to  insure  the  rati 
fication  by  the  states  of  the  fourteenth  amendment. 

Carpenter  was  now  the  most  popular  man  in  the  state,  and 
every  night  until  the  day  of  election  addressed,  in  all  the 
leading  cities,  audiences  greater  than  his  voice  could  com 
pass.  He  was  followed  everywhere  by  a  perfect  ovation,  the 
entire  loyal  or  Union  population  turning  out  to  hear  him 
urge  the  election  of  the  Union  candidates. 

THE  DEMOCRACY  AGITATED 

When  he  came  before  the  public  clearly  and  boldly  in 
espousal  of  the  policy  of  congress  and  the  republican  party, 
violent  commotion  was  observable  in  the  ranks  of  the  John 
son  democracy.  He  not  only  became  the  target  for  a  lively 
fusilade  from  democratic  orators,  but  received  raking  broad 
sides  from  their  newspapers.  They  had  not  simply  lost  a  vote 
or  an  eloquent  voice,  but  something  far  more  important. 
Hundreds  and  thousands  of  democrats  who  had  been 
estranged  by  the  Rebellion  were  supposed,  after  its  close,  to 
still  entertain  such  kindly  feelings  for  the  old  party  as,  if  left 
uninfluenced,  would  lead  them  back  into  its  ranks. 

These  were  following  Carpenter  like  sheep.  Towering 
above  the  multitude,  as  the  glittering  snow  that  crowns  the 
highest  mountain-peak  rivets  the  eye  and  guides  the  footsteps 
of  the  benighted  traveler,  his  clear  logic  illumined  the  way 
and  led  the  patriotic  but  wavering  democracy  over  to  repub 
licanism.  Those  who  understand  the  methods  of  partisan 
journalism  will  not,  therefore,  wonder  at  the  quality  or  the 
volume  of  the  attack  on  him  by  the  opposition  newspapers. 
He  was  for  some  time  referred  to  by  them  as  the  "  Belial  of 
Radicalism."  But  he  was  ri^ht.  There  is  not  in  the  sermon 


THE   DEMOCRACY   AGITATED.  251 

on  the  mount  more  eloquent  truth  than  may  be  found  in 
Carpenter's  Academy  of  Music  speech  of  October  4,  1866, 
and  no  human  record  contains  a  more  logical  and  powerful 
appeal  for  equal  suffrage. 

In  1867,  he  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  the  Union  republican 
state  convention,  which  met  at  Madison  September  4th  and 
nominated  Lucius  Fairchild  for  governor.  He  represented 
the  fourth  senatorial  district  in  this  convention.  On  the  26th 
of  September,  during  the  progress  of  the  state  fair  in  Madi 
son,  he  addressed  a  very  large  audience  in  the  assembly 
chamber  of  the  capitol,  urging  that  those  who  supported  the 
war  must,  to  continue  their  patriotism  to  full  fruition,  support 
the  republican  party.  He  said: 

So  you  see  the  issue  remains  to-day  precisely  what  it  was  during  the  war. 
You  see  the  same  men  are  arrayed  on  the  same  side  of  the  question.  The 
contest  is  only  changed  from  the  field  of  battle  into  the  arena  of  politics. 
The  contestants  are  the  same  —  the  contest  is  the  same,  the  individuals  on 
the  right  hand  and  on  the  left  hand  remain  in  precisely  the  same  relative  posi 
tions  and  are  making  the  same  relative  efforts  that  they  were  making  in 
'61,  '62,  '63  and  '64.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  republican  party,  and  all  who  sup 
ported  the  war,  to  not  only  give  the  Negroes  rights,  but  to  secure  to  them 
those  rights.  If  they  hesitate  and  falter,  if  they  change  their  plan  and  pur 
pose  to  wipe  out  all  the  consequences  of  slavery  in  these  southern  states  — 
to  protect  every  black  man,  the  humblest  and  feeblest  in  all  the  south,  in 
his  full  equality  and  rights  before  the  law  —  then  they  have  thrown  away 
all  this  treasure,  they  have  wasted  all  this  blood  for  nothing;  and  they  are 
to  stand  charged  with  all  the  consequences  that  must  result  from  that  cow 
ardice  and  treachery  to  their  own  principles  and  their  own  professions. 


252  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

FIRST  SENATORIAL  CAMPAIGN. 

Probably  but  few  persons  ever  knew  precisely  how  Car 
penter  came  to  make  his  distinguished  vault  from  private 
citizenship  to  a  seat  in  the  senate  of  the  United  States.  Sub 
sequently,  when  questioned  in  relation  to  it,  he  replied  that 
it  was  an  astonishing  circumstance  that  he  had  never  been 
able  to  fully  explain  —  of  which,  in  fact,  he  himself  never 
had  a  clear  understanding.  "  It  seemed,"  he  said,  in  looking 
back,  "  like  a  half-remembered,  but  pleasant  dream." 

His  argument  before  the  supreme  court  of  the  United 
States  in  the  McCardle  case,  in  the  spring  of  1868,  the  cir 
cumstances  with  which  we  are  now  familiar,  made  a  pro 
found  impression.  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  secretary  of  war, 
said  to  Carpenter  before  his  return  to  Milwaukee:  "We 
need  you  in  congress,  where  we  are  in  trouble  with  ques 
tions  similar  to  this  and  with  others  equally  important  in 
regard  to  the  south.  I  hope  our  friends  in  Wisconsin  will 
find  it  to  their  pleasure,  as  it  certainly  will  be  to  their  inter 
est,  to  make  you  Mr.  Doolittle's  successor  in  the  United 
States  senate." 

This  was  then  regarded  as  little  more  than  a  pleasant 
compliment  on  the  part  of  the  grateful  secretary.  A  few 
weeks  later,  however,  Carpenter  was  surprised  to  learn  from 
Judge  Levi  Hubbell,  of  Milwaukee,  that  Stanton  had  writ 
ten  several  letters  to  Wisconsin  suggesting  that  a  campaign 
to  make  him  Doolittle's  successor  be  at  once  inaugurated. 
The  expediency  and  propriety  of  such  a  move  appeared  to 
him  doubtful.  At  first  any  discussion  of  the  subject  was 
embarrassing  to  such  an  extent  as  to  be  noticeable  to  those 
in  the  secret,  and  he  avoided  all  allusion  to  it.  '  His  actions 
showed  as  plainly  as  possible  that  he  felt  some  unworthiness 
or  lack  of  distinguished  standing  as  a  candidate  for  a  posi- 


STARTING   THE   BALL  253 

tion  at  once  so  high  and  honorable.  Gradually,  however, 
he  became  less  shy  in  presence  of  the  idea,  and  after  can 
vassing  the  advantages  and  drawbacks  of  office-holding, 
finally  decided  that  he  was  willing  the  campaign  should 
begin. 

STARTING  THE  BALL. 

Having  decided  to  enter  the  contest,  a  complete  change 
now  came  over  him.  He  became  possessed  of  that  ardent 
desire  to  win  which  accompanies  all  honorable  ambition.  He 
passed  around  among  his  friends  of  high  standing  and  influ 
ence,  and  having  thus  personally  learned  who  would  support, 
who  oppose  and  who  remain  neutral,  on  June  i8th  took  the 
train  for  Janesville  for  the  purpose  of  laying  the  matter 
before  Alexander  M.  Thomson,  editor  of  the  Janesville 
Gazette.  Thomson  was  an  original  and  staunch  republican, 
who  had  been  speaker  of  the  previous  assembly,  and  would 
probably  be  re-elected  at  the  on-coming  election.  Carpenter 
was  particularly  desirous  that  his  candidacy  should  be  first 
brought  before  the  public  by  such  a  man,  and  in  old  Rock 
county,  his  first  Wisconsin  home. 

Those  who  have  always  maintained  that  he  was  no  politi 
cian  must  acknowledge  that  the  shrewdness  of  this  move 
exceeded  that  of  any  of  the  plans  proposed  by  his  most 
adroit  and  experienced  friends.  To  have  his  name  elevated 
before  the  people  by  the  Gazette  would  be  an  unassailable 
indorsement  of  the  soundness  of  his  republicanism  from  the 
highest  source;  and  particularly  would  it  contribute  mate 
rially  to  the  advantage  and  success  of  his  campaign  to  have 
Thomson  committed  to  his  candidacy.  That  gentlemen,  be 
ing  an  aspirant  for  speaker,  would  of  course  do  his  utmost  to 
make  certain  his  own  election  as  well  as  that  of  such  assem 
blymen  as,  being  friendly  to  him,  would  naturally  be  more 
or  less  under  his  influence. 

He  spent  an  entire  day  with  Thomson,  who,  though  per 
sonally  favorable  to  the  project,  thought  it  could  not  be  ac 
complished  at  that  time.  He  pointed  out  that  Carpenter  had 


254  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

never  been  very  pronounced  in  any  formal  adherency  to  the 
republican  party,  and  the  people,  disgusted  with  the  recent 
deflection  of  Senator  Doolittle  and  his  espousal  of  Andrew 
Johnson's  "  my  policy,"  would  regard  with  suspicion  the  sin 
cerity  and  stability  of  any  comparatively  new  convert  whose 
first  important  demonstration  in  the  party  was  that  of  a  can 
didate  for  the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the  state. 

Carpenter  declared  this  view  did  him  great  injustice;  that 
he  was  not  a  new  convert;  that  his  "first  important  demon 
stration  in  the  party  "  was  not  that  of  an  office-seeker,  as  he 
had  supported  all  the  war  measures,  fought  for  the  election 
of  Lincoln  and  all  the  republican  congressmen;  made  numer 
ous  speeches  against  Johnson's  policy  and  in  support  of  the 
power  of  congress  over  the  states  lately  in  rebellion,  and 
that,  finally,  he  was  not  a  common  office-seeker,  the  idea  of 
becoming  a  candidate  for  the  senatorship  having  never  entered 
his  head  until  the  time  it  was  suggested  by  Secretary  Stanton. 
The  secret  candidate  then  returned  home  without  having 
secured  a  decision,  fully  resolved  to  let  the  matter  quietly  drop, 
its  existence  unknown  to  any  save  a  few  intimate  friends,  if 
he  could  not  go  before  the  people  guarantied  by  the  sanction 
and  great  seal  of  Old  Rock,  his  first  home  in  the  west  and  the 
very  Gibraltar  of  republicanism  in  Wisconsin. 

Not  more  than  two  or  three  days  after  the  interview, 
Ithamer  C.  Sloan  called  on  Thomson  in  Carpenter's  behalf, 
but  he  found  little  to  urge.  Thomson  had  fully  decided 
to  bring  out  the  brilliant  attorney  and  war  orator  for  the 
senatorship.  On  June  2Oth,  therefore,  he  published  as  his  en 
cyclical  letter  to  the  republicans  of  the  state,  a  long  review 
of  Carpenter's  career,  showing  his  distinguished  service  to 
freedom,  the  Union,  republicanism,  reconstruction  and  Negro 
suffrage ;  paying  a  just  tribute  to  his  unrivaled  abilities  as  a 
jurist  and  statesman,  and  closing  thus: 

Next  to  faithfulness  in  a  public  servant,  the  country  needs  the  benefit  of 
the  ablest  men,  the  best-trained  thinkers  —  those  statesmen  whose  methods 
of  thought  and  action  accord  with  the  progressive  ideas  which  characterize 


BOYISH   EMBARRASSMENT.  255 

the  age.  We  need  men  to  represent  us  there  who  possess,  in  a  high  degree, 
those  traits  of  character  and  of  intellect  which  distinguished  Clay,  Benton, 
Silas  Wright,  Dougtos  and  Preston  King  from  some  of  those  who  now 
occupy  their  seats.  If  we  can  find  a  man  in  our  ranks  whose  adhesion  to 
principle,  brilliant  oratory,  and  great  legal  ability  has  attracted  the  attention 
and  admiration  of  the  leading  men  of  both  political  parties  throughout  the 
Union,  he  is  the  man  who  ought  to  be  elected  to  represent  a  great  and 
rapidly-growing  state  like  Wisconsin  in  the  senate  of  the  United  States. 
Suck  a  man  is  Matt.  H.  Carpenter,  and  we  nominate  him  as  the  successor  of 
James  R.  Doolittle. 

This  article  aroused  a  tumult  in  political  circles.  Already 
had  public  attention  been  fastened  upon  CadwalladerC.  Wash- 
burn,  Horace  Rublee,  Edward  Salomon  and  O.  H.  Waldo. 
They  had  been  formally  put  forward  as  candidates,  and,  it 
was  generally  supposed,  comprised  the  entire  list  of  aspi 
rants.  It  was  largely  expected,  also,  that  Mr.  Rublee,  being  a 
well-known  and  leading  member  of  the  profession  of  jour 
nalism,  would  have  the  support  of  a  large  share  of  the  repub 
lican  press,  though  Washburn  had  been  counting  on  the 
support  of  Thomson  and  the  Janesville  Gazette.  The  lines 
of  the  campaign  having  been  thus  early  marked,  it  is  easy  to 
understand  the  commotion  that  followed  the  formal  presenta 
tion  of  Carpenter.  He  and  his  friends  remained  inactive  for 
a  few  days,  quietly  watching  the  effects  of  the  numerous 
petty  storms  and  whirlwinds  that  were  tormenting  the  politi 
cal  horizon  of  the  state  and  vexing  the  minds  of  other  sena 
torial  candidates.  When  these  had  become  less  violent,  it 
was  observed  that  the  Evening  Wisconsin,  of  Milwaukee, 
was  the  only  newspaper  in  the  state  that  had  aligned  itself 
with  the  Janesville  Gazette  in  favor  of  Carpenter.  But  the 
campaign  had  been  decided  upon,  and  must  be  carried  for 
ward. 

BOYISH  EMBARRASSMENT. 

Carpenter's  reply  to  the  question  of  how  he  became  a 
candidate  for  the  senatorship  has  been  recorded,  together 
with  a  statement  of  the  origin  of  the  idea.  In  reply  to  the 
question  often  asked  and  always  answered  in  the  same  man- 


256  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

ner,  as  to  how  he  was  actually  elected,  he  said:  "  I  really  don't 
know;  ask  Carter."  He  referred  to  Walter  S.  Carter,  of 
the  law.  firm  of  Chamberlain,  Carter  &  Hornblower,  of 
New  York,  who,  turning  back  the  leaves  of  his  memory, 
observes : 

Matt  and  I  settled  in  Milwaukee  during  the  same  year,  1858.  We 
had  offices  within  an  apple's  throw  of  each  other,  we  lived  in  the  same 
ward,  we  knew  each  other  very  well.  One  day  I  was  not  less  surprised 
than  pleased  to  find  a  strong  editorial  in  the  Janesville  Gazette  formally 
bringing  him  out  as  a  candidate  for  the  United  States  senate.  I  did  not 
wait  to  read  the  article  through,  but  ran  across  and  asked  him  whether  it  was 
true.  With  that  boyish  embarrassment  which  I  often  noticed  in  him  on 
such  occasions,  he  answered  that  it  was  true.  I  asked  him  if  I  could  be  of 
any  service  to  him.  He  replied  eagerly  that  I  could,  as  there  was  yet 
nobody  to  do  anything  and  nothing  had  been  done.  Accordingly  I  met 
him  by  appointment,  at  his  house,  that  very  evening,  and  there  the  plan  of 
the  campaign,  as  far  as  he  knew  anything  about  it,  was  marked  out  and 
agreed  upon.  Our  plan  was  to  ignore  the  politicians  entirely  —  play  it  over 
their  heads  —  and  deal  directly  with  and  be  rictorious  or  defeated  by  the 
people.  Matt,  was  strong  with  the  people  and  strong  with  the  politicians, 
but  on  the  wrong  side  with  the  latter,  for  he  was  no  politician.  We  talked 
until  late,  agreeing  firmly  to  keep  aloof  from  old  party  hacks.  We  fixed 
upon  a  list  of  dates  and  places  for  making  public  addresses,  covering  all 
the  larger  communities  in  the  republican  portions  of  the  state. 

Matt,  insisted  no  time  should  be  wasted  in  talking  to  democrats,  so  his 
appointments  embraced  only  republican  districts.  Finally,  when  I  left  him 
that  night,  I  had  promised  to  do  as  much  of  the  detail  work  as  I  could  in 
helping  to  organize  a  popular  campaign,  which  I  did  from  that  hour  until 
8:  20  P.  M.  of  Tuesday,  January  ipth,  when  our  efforts  were  crowned  by  a 
glorious  triumph  in  his  nomination  by  the  republican  caucus. 

During  the  evening  in  which  Carpenter  and  Carter  met 
to  lay  out  a  programme  of  work,  Mrs.  Carpenter  heard  for 
the  first  time  of  her  husband's  political  prospects.  After  the 
departure  of  their  guest,  she  mentioned  the  matter  with 
natural  pleasure  and  surprise  and  asked  for  further  informa 
tion.  Blushing  like  a  maiden  at  the  first  discovery  of  her 
betrothal,  he  finally  made  a  clean  breast  of  the  matter. 


SUPPORTING   GRANT.  257 


SUPPORTING  GRANT. 

Ulysses  S.  Grant,  of  Illinois,  had  been  nominated  by  the 
republicans  at  the  Chicago  convention  for  President,  with 
Schuyler  Coif  ax  for  Vice- President.  Grant  was  one  of  the 
two  or  three  who  had  urged  that  Carpenter  be  engaged  in 
the  McCardle  case.  On  the  other  hand,  Carpenter  was  a 
great  admirer  of  Grant's  quiet  tenacity,  his  cool  and  unfail 
ing  bravery  and  his  general  good  sense,  and  therefore  deter 
mined,  as  soon  as  the  republican  presidential  ticket  was 
placed  in  the  field,  to  do  all  that  was  possible  to  insure  its 
election.  On  the  25th  of  May  a  great  ratification  mass-meet 
ing  was  held  in  Milwaukee.  The  regular  orators  were  Gen 
erals  Daniel  E.  Sickles  and  Alfred  Pleasanton,  who  came 
direct  from  the  Chicago  convention.  Carpenter  was  present, 
a  conspicuous  figure.  At  the  close  of  the  regular  addresses 
the  calls  for  him  were  so  imperative  that  he  responded  with 
a  speech  that  was  published  and  re-published  throughout  the 
Union.  After  paying  his  respects  to  President  Johnson,  pro 
nouncing  him  guilty  as  charged  in  the  articles  of  impeach 
ment,  he  said: 

The  revolution  of  the  south  against  the  most  indulgent  government  on 
earth  was  one  of  those  upheaving  events  which  changed  men's  thoughts, 
broke  up  old  associations,  threw  the  mind  back  on  first  principles,  and  com 
pelled  men  to  reason  for  themselves  in  a  new  condition  of  things.  Previous 
political  organizations  had  been  based  upon  different  schemes  of  adminis 
tration.  But  the  war  raised  an  issue  back  of  that  and  touched  the  right  ot 
the  government  to  exist.  It  was  impossible  to  predict,  when  the  war  com 
menced,  what  course  any  man  would  pursue,  merely  from  a  knowledge  of 
his  former  political  associations.  To  know  that  a  man  had  advocated  a 
high  tariff  or  free  trade,  a  paper  or  a  metallic  currency,  had  favored  or  op 
posed  internal  improvements,  gave  no  clue  to  his  conduct  upon  the  new, 
the  all-absorbing  issue  created  by  the  war.  It  is  true  that  old  party  ties  and 
watch-words  did  not  entirely  lose  their  influence,  and  many  whose  patriot 
ism  was  cool  were  influenced,  against  their  better  judgment,  by  party  dis 
cipline  of  the  great  and  heretofore  triumphant  democratic  organization,  to 
cling  to  their  party  when  the  choice  had  come  to  be  between  party  and 
country.  But  however  long  any  man  may  have  hesitated  in  his  choice,  or 
'7 


258  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

however  severe  may  have  been  the  struggle  between  his  conscience  as  a 
citizen  and  his  fealty  as  a  politician,  the  choice  once  made,  the  new  path  lay 
straight  before  him;  and  if  he  determined  to  support  the  war  from  honest 
conviction  of  duty,  and  not  for  a  commission  or  contract,  then  he  is  sup 
porting  Grant  and  Colfax  to-day,  in  obedience  to  the  law  of  consistency 
and  from  absolute  logical  necessity.  Grant  and  Colfax  are  entitled  to  our 
support,  not  only  from  personal  considerations,  but  because  they  represent 
principles  and  are  pledged  to  a  certain  line  of  conduct  and  administration 
represented  in  the  plattorm  adopted  by  the  Chicago  convention.  And  there 
is  not  a  plank  in  that  platform  that  has  not  become  absolutely  necessary  in 
consequence  of  the  war. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  pledge  in  favor  of  universal  suffrage.  It  stands 
in  the  platform  as  a  mere  logical  consequence  of  antecedent  events.  It 
may  illustrate  my  meaning  to  unfold  the  successive  steps  of  the  great 
argument  by  which  it  is  established.  The  government  had  a  right  to 
exist;  consequently  it  had  a  right  to  suppress  a  rebellion  which  menaced  its 
existence.  But  in  the  progress  of  the  war  it  became  evident  that  it  was 
absolutely  necessary  as  a  means  of  crippling  the  south  to  emancipate  their 
slaves.  This  being  done,  when  the  war  ended,  four  millions  of  human 
beings,  who  in  legal  contemplation  were  chattels  when  the  war  commenced, 
had  become  and  were  freemen.  It  is  one  of  the  first  principles  of  our 
system  —  indeed,  is  the  very  foundation  of  the  whole  structure  of  Ameri 
canism  —  that  every  freeman  bound  by  the  laws  should  have  a  voice  in 
making  the  laws.  The  black  men  of  the  south  are  freemen;  they  are 
bound  by  the  laws,  therefore  they  are  entitled  to  a  voice  in  making  the  laws ; 
that  is,  suffrage.  And  no  man  who  admits  the  first  proposition  —  that  the 
government  has  a  right  to  exist  —  can  deny  the  conclusion,  universal  suf 
frage.  Every  man  who  pledged  himself  to  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  if 
he  be  an  honest  man,  will  feel  bound  to  recognize  and  approve  all  the  nec 
essary  and  logical  consequences  of  the  war.  So  we  may  vindicate  every 
plank  of  that  platform  which  embodies  a  principle  of  future  administra 
tion.  Consequently  we  find  all  the  democrats  who  entered  upon  the  prose 
cution  of  the  war  from  convictions,  not  for  contracts,  battling  to-day  for 
the  principles  enunciated  in  that  platform.  Grant  himself,  and  Stanton, 
Holt,  Butler,  Logan,  SicklSs,  and  a  "  milky  way "  of  lesser  lights,  all 
illustrate  this  truth.  The  war  has  given  us  Grant  for  a  candidate ;  and 
universal  suffrage,  an  honest  discharge  of  our  national  obligations,  the  re 
construction  of  the  demolished  states  of  the  south  upon  the  congressional 
basis,  for  our  platform.  And  every  man  who  sustained  Grant  as  a  captain 
in  the  'camp  will  support  him  now  as  a  leader  in  the  campaign  of  politics, 
which  will  "  trammel  up  the  consequences  "  of  the  war,  rebuild  the  south 
ern  governments  destroyed  by  the  madness  of  treason,  and  restore  our 
government  to  its  first  principles  —  liberty,  law  and  order. 


ROBUST    RECRUITS.  259 

This  quick  and  decisive  support  of  Grant  was  a  material 
help  to  Carpenter  in  his  own  canvass.  Not  many  weeks 
elapsed  after  the  appearance  of  the  announcement  of  his 
candidacy  before  the  popular  tide  began  to  set  in  his  favor. 
But  it  was  by  no  means  an  unobstructed  tide.  Obstacles 
were  numerous  and  often  formidable.  C.  C.  Washburn 
controlled  the  La  Crosse  Republican;  the  Wisconsin  State 
Journal,  the  official  state  paper,  was  edited  (jointly  with 
David  Atwood)  by  Horace  Rublee,  and  other  papers  in  the 
state,  already  committed  to  the  support  of  other  candidates, 
cried  that  "  Carpenter  did  not  yet  know  how  to  act  in  his 
new  political  clothing."  The  democratic  organs,  exasper 
ated  because  he  did  not  return  to  their  fold  at  the  end  of  the 
war,  vehemently  denounced  him  as  a  "  turn-coat,"  a  "  mod 
ern  Belial,"  an  "  Esau  who  was  selling  his  birthright  for  a 
mess  of  pottage."  These  innuendoes,  clothed  in  the  startling 
verbiage  malevolent  genius  can  always  command,  had  for  a 
time  an  adverse  effect  upon  his  canvass.  The  shibboleth  of 
"  longer  probation "  had  many  sincere  followers,  because 
Doolittle,  whom  Carpenter  hoped  to  succeed,  had  just  aban 
doned  his  party  in  order  to  follow  Andrew  Johnson. 

• 

ROBUST  RECRUITS. 

After  the  campaign  had  arrived  at  an  advanced  and  heated 
stage,  the  head  and  front  of  the  so-called  "  Madison  Re 
gency,"  E.  W.  Keyes,  appeared  in  Carpenter's  office  in 
Milwaukee,  in  company  with  the  late  Ben.  F.  Hopkins. 
After  the  interchange  of  the  usual  courtesies  of  greeting, 
Hopkins  inquired: 

"  How  is  it,  Mr.  Carpenter,  that  your  candidacy  is  meet 
ing  with  such  astonishing  success  and  favor  without  the 
apparent  aid  or  effort  of  anybody?" 

"  Spontaneous  uprising  of  the  people,  for  the  purpose  of 
rebuking  politicians,"  was  the  laconic  reply. 

"  That's  all  bosh,"  answered  Hopkins,  nevertheless  appre 
ciating  the  hit.  "  Now  tell  us  all  about  it." 


26O  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

Carpenter  then,  in  a  few  sentences,  explained  whence  first 
arose  the  idea  of  his  candidacy,  and  that  the  extent  of  the 
campaign  work  up  to  that  time  had  been  what  newspaper 
discussion  had  naturally  followed  the  formal  announcement 
in  the  Janesville  Gazette. 

"If  that  is  true,"  exclaimed  Keyes,  one  of  the  most  expe 
rienced  political  managers  in  the  northwest,  "you  can  be 
elected." 

Thenceforward,  Keyes  and  his  friends  were  effective  work 
ers  for  Carpenter. 

The  labors  of  a  remarkable  senatorial  campaign  now  began 
in  earnest.  Alexander  C.  Botkin,  editor  of  the  Milwaukee 
Sentinel,  prepared  a  list  of  sixty-six  republican  and  independ 
ent  newspapers  in  the  state,  only  two  of  which,  the  Janes 
ville  Gazette  and  Milwaukee  Evening  Wisconsin,  favored 
Carpenter's  election.  The  gentleman  who  took  this  list 
soon  knew  whether  their  editors  were  committed  to  any  of 
the  other  candidates,  and  if  so,  why;  whether  they  had  any 
pet  schemes  or  whims;  whether  their  support  and  influence 
would  be  damaging  or  beneficial;  in  fact,  in  a  short  time 
had  a  written  record  of  everything  about  them  that  it  was 
desirable  to  know.  When  this  had  been  accomplished,  the 
work  of  enlisting  the  support  of  such  as  it  was  deemed 
advisable  to  have  on  Carpenter's  side  began.  One  after 
another  they  wheeled  into  line,  until  forty-six  out  of  the  orig 
inal  list  of  sixty-six  were  enthusiastic  in  their  support  of  the 
popular  lawyer  and  orator. 

As  he  passed  up  and  down  the  state  addressing  public 
gatherings,  Carpenter  lost  no  opportunity  of  becoming  per 
sonally  acquainted  with  as  many  leading  republicans  as  pos 
sible,  and  with  the  members  of  their  families.  The  warmth 
with  which  he  was  everywhere  received  was  indeed  pleasant, 
if  not  remarkable,  and  he  frequently  confessed  that  the 
senatorship  was  a  small  prize  compared  with  the  many  rare 
friendships  he  had  formed  during  the  campaign. 


THE    GOOD    PARSONS.  26l 


THE  GOOD  PARSONS. 

Some  interesting  campaign  features  are  disclosed  in  the 

following  letter: 

NEW  YORK,  Sept.  20,  1883. 

DEAR  SIR: — When  Matt.'s  first  senatorial  campaign  opened  I  had  been 
chairman  of  the  United  States  Christian  Commission  in  the  war  of  the  Re 
bellion,  had  made  two  trips  along  the  army  lines  and  personally  knew  the 
soldiers  from  Wisconsin.  I  had  been  for  three  years  secretary  of  the  Wis 
consin  State  Sunday  School  Association  and  knew  all  the  Sunday  school 
men  in  the  state ;  and  besides,  and  better  than  all,  I  was  a  member  of  the 
great  Methodist  denomination.  I  well  recollect  the  half-amused,  half- 
frightened  look  that  took  possession  of  Matt.'s  face  on  the  night  of  our  first 
meeting  to  devise  a  plan  of  campaign,  when  I  explained  to  him  that  among 
the  list  of  speaking  appointments  the  dates  of  those  for  Boscobel  and  Ra 
cine  corresponded  with  the  dates  for  holding  the  Methodist  conferences  in 
those  cities.  Although  incredulous  as  to  the  expediency  of  such  forced  in 
trusions,  as  he  called  them,  he  finally  consented  to  the  programme.  He 
was  still  more  astonished  when  the  conferences  at  both  places  adjourned 
for  our  meetings,  and,  mirablc  dictu,  at  Boscobel  the  good  parsons  actually 
gave  us  their  church  for  the  evening  and  were  enthusiastic  listeners  to  Mr. 
Carpenter's  captivating  oratory.  In  fact,  if  my  recollection  serves  me  right,  I 
believe  one  of  the  leading  elders  opened  the  meeting,  which  was  as  large 
as  the  house  could  possibly  accommodate,  with  a  semi-political  prayer,  ask 
ing  God's  blessing  upon  Mr.  Carpenter's  efforts. 

WALTER  S.  CARTER. 

When  the  day  of  election  came  the  republicans  were 
everywhere  successful.  Wisconsin  gave  nearly  twenty-five 
thousand  majority  for  Grant,  and  elected  eighty-seven  out  of 
the  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  members  of  the  legislature. 
A.  M.  Thomson  was  re-elected  by  a  round  majority,  and 
when  the  legislature  convened,  January  13,  1869,  was  again 
chosen  speaker.  This  was  Carpenter's  first  triumph. 

The  election  of  senator  was  not  to  take  place  until  the  fol 
lowing  week,  yet  hundreds  of  lobbyists  were  already  on  the 
ground.  Carpenter  was  present,  with  headquarters  in  the 
Vilas  House.  The  great  value  of  his  fall  stumping-tour  now 
appeared.  He  was  personally  acquainted  with  two-thirds  of 
the  republican  members,  and  had  been  a  guest  of  many  of 
them.  A  strong  and  growing  personal  feeling  in  his  favor, 


262  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

therefore,  prevailed  among  a  majority  of  the  members, 
though  many  were  bound  by  previous  arrangements  and 
complications  to  vote  for  other  candidates.  He  therefore 
said  to  his  friends  that  if  the  nomination  of  Washburn,  who 
was  then  his  leading  rival,  could  be  prevented  for  two  days 
after  the  first  meeting  of  the  caucus,  he  himself  would  be 
chosen. 

PRIZE  DECLAMATIONS. 

As  the  canvass  progressed  Thomson  hit  upon  a  decidedly 
novel  plan  of  adding  spice  and  variety  to  the  proceedings. 
He  drafted  a  call  petitioning  "  Otis  H.  Waldo,  Cadwallader 
C.  Washburn,  Edward  Salomon,  Horace  Rublee  and  Mat 
thew  H.  Carpenter  to  appear  before  a  mass-meeting  of  the 
members  of  the  legislature  and  all  others  who  might  desire 
to  attend,  and  give  their  views  upon  the  issues  of  the  day." 
This  scheme  met  the  decided  opposition  of  all  but  Carpenter. 
Washburn,  who  made  no  pretense  to  oratory,  was  particu 
larly  displeased  with  the  call,  but  as  a  majority  of  the  mem 
bers  of  the  legislature  had  signed  it,  none  of  the  rivals  dared 
to  decline. 

Monday  evening,  January  i8th,  was  fixed  as  the  time  for 
the  "  prize  rhetorical  exercises,"  and  "  spelling-school  exhi 
bition,"  as  the  wags  had  it.  O.  H.  Waldo  denominated  the 
affair  "  a  humbug,"  suggesting  that  "  there  would  be  as  much 
sense  in  choosing  a  senator  by  the  length  of  his  nose  or  the 
size  of  his  foot  as  by  the  ridiculous  scheme  of  measuring 
tongues!"  Carpenter  opened  his  address: 

For  twenty  years  I  have  been  accustomed  to  public  speaking,  and  yet  I 
feel  to-night  all  the  embarrassment  of  a  man  attempting  to  make  his  first 
speech.  I  have  defended  men  charged  with  all  sorts  of  crimes,  from 
drunkenness  up  to  murder.  This  is  the  first  time  I  ever  stood  up  to  defend 
myself. 

He  then  stated  at  considerable  length  his  political  pedigree, 
and  closed  thus: 

Now  let  us  for  a  few  moments  consider  the  issues  bequeathed  to  us  by 
the  war.  The  first  great  topic  relates  to  the  reconstruction  of  state  govern- 


PRIZE    DECLAMATIONS.  263 

ments  in  the  late  rebel  states.  But  as  I  have  discussed  this  subject  so  fully 
in  the  argument  in  the  McCardle  case,  in  the  supreme  court  of  the  United 
States,  and  in  a  speech  upon  the  same  subject  made  at  Chicago  during  the 
late  campaign,  both  of  which  have  been  extensively  circulated  as  campaign 
documents,  I  shall  pass  that  subject  without  comment. 

The  subject  of  finance  will  necessarily  engross  most  of  the  attention  of 
the  country  and  of  congress  for  many  years.  There  area  few  leading  ideas 
that  must  always  be  borne  in  mind.  Strict  economy;  no  more  subsidies; 
such  appropriations  only  as  are  strictly  within  the  provisions,  the  letter  and 
spirit  of  the  constitution ;  necessary  improvement  of  our  harbors  and  rivers ; 
an  equal  and  honest  adjustment  of  the  burthens  of  national  taxation;  a  firm 
resolution  to  keep  the  public  faith  inviolable;  and  all  will  be  well. 

Now,  gentlemen,  if,  all  things  considered,  you  can  conscientiously  cast 
your  votes  for  me,  I  shall  be  delighted.  If  not,  if  you  concur  with  a  por 
tion  of  the  press  of  the  state  in  the  opinion  that  I  am  not  fit  to  be  a  repub 
lican  candidate,  but  am  fit  to  hold  a  candle  for  other  candidates,  so  be  it; 
bring  on  your  candidates,  and  I  will  stump  the  state  for  them  every  year  as 
long  as  I  live. 

Washburn,  who  was  in  an  unpleasant  frame  of  mind,  fol 
lowed,  and  began  by  making  some  sharp  allusions  to  his  com 
petitor.  This  at  once  drove  the  sympathy  of  the  audience 
beyond  his  control,  compelling  him  to  stem  the  current  in 
stead  of  riding  upon  it,  as  Carpenter  had  done.  Quick  to 
observe  his  loss,  and  perhaps  a  little  frustrated  by  the  effects 
of  it,  he  attempted  to  turn  the  tide  by  a  sally  upon  Carpen 
ter:  "My  friend  Carpenter  has  said  that  if  you  defeat  him 
and  drive  him  out,  he  shall  never  dare  again  appear  before 
the  people,  and  shall  content  himself  with  giving  a  silent 
vote." 

What  conclusion  he  proposed  to  draw  from  this  utterance 
can  never  be  known,  as  it  was  followed  by  vociferous  cries 
of  "  He  did  not  say  that,"  "  You  speak  an  untruth,"  and 
similar  expressions  of  disapproval.  The  commotion  became 
so  marked,  that,  although  Washburn  had  uttered  but  a  few 
sentences,  he  retired  after  declaring  he  had  no  intention  of 
misquoting  anybody. 

This  episode  gave  the  sympathy  of  the  audience  still 
further  to  Carpenter,  and  rendered  it  exceedingly  difficult 
for  Waldo,  Rublee  and  Salomon  to  do  justice  to  the  occa- 


264  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

sion  or  their  abilities.  Even  Carpenter's  opponents  ac 
knowledged  that  the  oratorical  contest  had  resulted  in  a 
signal  triumph  for  him,  and  his  friends  went  into  the  caucus 
on  the  following  night  not  only  hopeful  but  enthusiastic. 

BEHIND  THE  SCENES. 

It  is  the  custom  in  Wisconsin,  as  it  is  in  most  other  states, 
for  the  members  of  either  party  in  the  legislature  to  hold  a 
secret  meeting  called  a  "  caucus,"  in  which  candidates  for 
speaker  of  the  assembly,  president  fro  tempore  of  the  senate 
or  United  States  senator  are  chosen  by  a  majority  vote  of 
those  present.  The  candidate  so  chosen  is  regarded  as  the 
regular  nominee  of  the  party,  and  receives  in  the  formal 
meeting  of  the  legislature  the  full  party  vote. 

The  caucus  of  the  republican  members  to  agree  upon  a 
candidate  for  United  States  senator  was  held  in  the  basement 
of  the  capitol  building  at  7 130  P.  M.,  Tuesday,  January  ipth. 
All  other  persons  except  a  few  messenger  boys,  to  whom  the 
proceedings  were  supposed  to  be  wholly  unintelligible,  were 
excluded,  the  sergeants-at-arms  of  both  branches  barricad 
ing,  with  the  majesty  of  their  positions,  the  entrance  against 
all  but  the  elect.  Senator  Anthony  Van  Wyck  was  elected 
chairman,  and  Senator  Ira  W.  Fisher  and  Assemblyman 
Thaddeus  C.  Pound  were  chosen  secretaries. 

After  Luther  Buxton's  motion  to  proceed  to  an  informal 
ballot  for  a  candidate  for  United  States  senator,  Charles 
G.  Williams,  a  state  senator,  in  a  very  brilliant  and  elab 
orate  speech,  presented  "  Matt.  H.  Carpenter  as  the  special 
candidate  of  the  overwhelmingly  and  ever  reliable  republican 
county  of  Rock,  whose  people  had  known  him  from  his 
youth  up."  The  closing  sentences  of  his  speech  will  be 
quoted: 

One  thing,  sir,  we  do  remember,  and  we  never  wish  to  forget  it,  and  that 
is,  when  the  clouds  lowered  over  all  this  land,  when  treason  held  high 
carnival,  when  the  strongest  hearts  quailed,  and  all  was  doubt  and  uncer 
tainty —  above  the  clamor  of  party,  above  the  din  of  war,  rang  out  the 


BEHIND    THE    SCENES. 


265 


clarion  voice  of  Matt.  H.  Carpenter,  and  the  sentiments  he  promulgated 
received  the  Godspeed  of  every  patriot  and  every  genuine  republican  from 
Maine  to  California. 

Remembering  these  things,  against  all  opposition  and  every  objection, 
Rock  county  takes  the  responsibility,  and  backs  him  -with  her  thirty-four  hun 
dred  republican  majority. 

Sir,  overwrought  I  may  be,  inexperienced  I  know  I  am,  zealous  I  can  but 
be.  It  seems  to  me  the  hour  of  destiny  approaches;  that  one  of  those 
grand  opportunities  offered  to  a  state  but  once  in  a  century  is  upon  us. 
Shall  we  seize  the  opportunity? 

We  bring  our  candidate,  upon  whom  even  the  most  earnest  of  his  op 
ponents  will  not  deny  that  nature  has  showered  her  richest  gifts;  that  in 
breadth  of  brain,  profundity  of  statesmanship,  and  grace  and  power  of 
speech,  is  every  way  qualified  to  adorn  the  senate  and  honor  the  state. 
Will  we  act  upon  nature's  hint? 

I  said  Massachusetts  had  named  her  Webster,  Kentucky  her  Clay,  Mis 
souri  her  Benton  and  her  Schurz,  Illinois  her  Douglas,  her  Lincoln,  and 
her  Grant.  Shall  Wisconsin  name  her  Carpenter? 

S.  C.  West,  of  Milwaukee,  seconded  the  nomination  in  a 
plain,  substantial  manner,  in  behalf  of  the  metropolis  of  the 
state  and  of  the  first  congressional  district. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  nominations,  an  informal  ballot 
was  taken,  resulting  in  twenty-nine  votes  for  Carpenter, 
thirty  for  Washburn,  fourteen  for  Waldo,  ten  for  Rublee,  and 
four  for  Salomon.  The  result  of  the  initial  exhibit  of  numer 
ical  strength  was  surprising,  particularly  to  the  friends  of 
Washburn  and  Waldo,  who  never  had  conceded  more  than 
nineteen  or  twenty  votes  to  Carpenter,  and  had  counted  on 
a  much  larger  following  for  themselves.  The  interest,  there 
fore,  at  once  became  intense,  and  tally-sheets  were  prepared, 
in  order  to  know  the  result  at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 
Five  formal  ballots  were  taken  in  rapid  succession  amidst 
intense  interest: 


i 

2 

3 

4 

5 

M.  H.  Carpenter     

*j 

\\ 

M 

40 

44. 

C.  C.  W.ishburn  

•21 

-?2 

3* 

•?? 

?r 

O.  II    Waldo 

12 

1  1 

8 

Horace    Rublee  

8 

6 

r 

t 

•? 

E.  Salomon 

i 

I 

266  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

The  chairman  announced  that  Carpenter  had  been  duly 
nominated,  and  Senator  Barlow  moved  that  the  nomination 
be  made  unanimous,  which  was  carried  with  hurrahs.  The 
news  spread  quickly  through  the  capitol  and  the  city.  Car 
penter  remained  at  his  headquarters  while  the  other  candi 
dates  were  in  the  assembly  chamber,  where,  immediately 
after  adjournment,  the  members  of  the  legislature  and  a 
crowd  of  spectators  gathered.  George  C.  Hazelton  called 
the  throng  to  order,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  notify 
Carpenter  of  his  nomination  and  to  invite  him  over  to  make  a 
speech.  To  this  he  demurred,  saying  it  would  be  more  proper 
to  make  a  speech  of  thanks  after  the  two  houses  had  ratified 
his  nomination,  if  they  should  so  far  honor  him.  But  "  no  " 
was  not  the  answer  wanted,  and  he  was  partly  dragged  and 
partly  carried  to  the  assembly  chamber,  where  his  appear 
ance  was  the  signal  for  hurrahs,  shouts,  and  every  conceiv 
able  manifestation  of  delight.  When  this  had  subsided  he 
mounted  the  speaker's  platform  and  said: 

GENTLEMEN: — I  should  be  wanting  in  all  the  tender  emotions  of  our 
common  humanity  if  I  were  in  a  mood  to  make  a  speech  to-night.  I  am 
so  delighted  to  be  thus  happily  delivered  from  the  uneasy  blanket  upon 
which  I  have  been  tossed  for  so  many  days,  that  I  hardly  know  how  to  ex 
press  to  you  my  thanks  for  this  fortunate  delivery.  But  there  is  one  thing 
to  be  borne  in  mind  at  the  close  of  this  contest  among  political  associates 
and  friends  —  no  scars  are  to  remain.  We  are  members  of  one  faith,  associ 
ated  together  in  one  organization,  for  high  political  and  governmental  ends. 
There  must  be  rivalry,  because  one  man  only  can  fill  one  particular  place; 
and  our  party  has  many  members  amply  qualified  to  occupy  the  highest 
positions,  and  the  friends  of  each  will  strive  to  promote  their  claims ;  and 
though  the  successful  candidate  must  remember  his  friends,  he  should  not 
cherish  resentments  or  harbor  malice  towards  those  who  have  adhered  to 
and  supported  rival  candidates. 

If  I  shall  be  elected,  gentlemen,  by  the  legislature,  for  the  position  to 
which  I  have  been  nominated,  it  will  be  my  careful  endeavor  and  constant 
aim,  in  all  places,  to  represent  no  city,  no  county  and  no  locality,  but  the 
state  of  Wisconsin. 

It  will  be  my  aim,  also,  so  far  as  I  shall  have  any  influence  in  the  dispo 
sition  of  the  patronage  of  the  general  government,  in  distributing  the  ap 
pointments  and  offices,  to  consult  no  clique,  no  "ring,"  but  give  the  people 
of  each  locality  the  opportunity  to  select  for  themselves  and  be  responsible 
for  the  propriety  of  such  choice. 


AN    OVATION.  267 

Gentlemen,  accept  my  sincere  thanks  for  this  nomination;  and  I  should 
but  half  answer  the  sense  of  duty  which  wells  up  in  my  heart,  if,  in  this 
place  and  upon  this  occasion,  I  should  forget  to  make  my  sincere  acknowledg 
ments  to  my  friends  of  the  "lobby,"  who  have  voluntarily  rallied  to  the 
rescue  from  all  parts  of  Wisconsin;  from  Rock,  from  Racine,  from  Mil 
waukee,  from  Wai  worth,  from  Hudson,  from  Sheboygan,  from  almost 
every  point  —  ardent,  devoted  and  firm  friends.  I  am  proud  to  say  the 
best  men  in  Wisconsin  have  come  here  to  assist  me  on  this  occasion.  I 
can  not  express  my  thanks  to  them,  for  I  have  no  language  that  would  be 
adequate. 

I  have  no  profuse  pledges  to  make.  I  shall  simply  say  that,  if  I  am 
elected,  I  will  endeavor  to  do  my  duty;  no  man  can  do  more. 

The  friends  he  thus  mentioned  were  present  in  the  fullness 
of-  their  admiration  for  Carpenter,  desirous  of  showing  their 
regard  for  him  in  a  material  way.  The  hotels  and  boarding- 
houses  were  all  crowded;  many  went  to  Black  Earth  and 
McFarland,- adjoining  villages,  to  find  beds,  and  scores  act 
ually  slept  on  the  stone  floors  of  the  halls  and  rotunda  of  the 
capitol.  This  lobby  was  certainly  cosmopolitan.  Several 
religious  denominations  were  represented,  one  well-known 
divine  who  saw  Carpenter  at  Boscobel  being  present,  urging 
his  election.  Lawyers  and  judges  gathered  in  great  num 
ber,  flanked  by  farmers,  journalists,  manufacturers  and  pro 
fessional  men  of  every  class.  Nothing  like  it  had  ever 
before  been  seen  in  Wisconsin. 

AN   OVATION. 

At  noon  of  the  following  day  Carpenter  boarded  the  cars 
for  home,  where  he  arrived  shortly  before  dusk.  At  every 
station  on  the  road  the  people  crowded  to  the  car  to  greet  and 
congratulate  him.  On  arriving  at  Milwaukee  he  was  as 
tonished  to  find  the  depot  and  platform  surrounded  with 
people  who  had  determined  to  tender  an  informal  recep 
tion.  Bach's  celebrated  military  band  was  present,  and  as  the 
train  drew  up  to  the  platform  played  "  Hail  to  the  Chief." 
Good  feeling  and  enthusiasm  were  overflowing,  and  as  he 
descended  from  the  car  he  was  literally  submerged  with 
greetings  and  congratulations.  Stemming  this  pleasant  tide  as 


268  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

best  he  could,  he  proceeded  to  a  carriage  in  waiting  to  con 
vey  him  home.  The  citizens  fell  into  line  under  Geo.  B. 
Goodwin,  and,  preceded  by  the  band,  escorted  Carpenter  to 
his  residence,  about  two  miles  distant.  The  escorting  crowd 
gathered  strength  as  it  proceeded,  and  the  wayside  greet 
ings  and  huzzahs  were  continuous. 

On  arriving  at  his  residence  the  pride  and  good  feeling  of 
his  friends  and  neighbors  broke  forth  again  in  prolonged  and 
vociferous  cheering,  while  hats  and  handkerchiefs  filled  the 
air.  When  the  storm  of  congratulations  had  subsided,  Mr. 
Goodwin,  in  a  few  eloquent  words,  welcomed  the  victor 
home.  Carpenter  responded  briefly,  thanking  those  assem 
bled  for  the  demonstration  of  their  friendship,  expressing  his 
determination  to  represent  the  principles  of  the  great  radical 
party  of  Wisconsin  in  the  United  States  senate  to  the  best  of 
his  ability. 

Three  cheers  were  then  given,  the  band  played  a  patriotic 
air  and  the  crowd  dispersed,  leaving  Carpenter  at  liberty  to 
enter  his  house  and  receive  the  greetings  of  his  family.  His 
daughter  Lilian,  then  ten  years  of  age,  had  heard  the  news 
of  her  father's  elevation,  and  asked  her  mother  how  he 
would  look  and  whether  she  would  know  him  on  his  return. 
To  her  childish  delight,  no  less  than  astonishment,  she 
recognized  her  father  —  there  actually  had  been  no  change ; 
he  was  the  same  jovial,  pleasant  papa  who  had  always  shared 
her  pleasures,  joined  in  her  amusements  and  soothed  her  lit 
tle  sorrows. 

CONFIRMED. 

On  January  2yth  the  two  houses  met  in  joint  session,  and 
on  the  first  ballot,  without  a  dissenting  vote  among  the  repub 
lican  members,  ratified  the  work  of  the  caucus,  and  at  noon 
of  that  day  Wyman  Spooner,  lieutenant-governor  and  presi 
dent  of  the  senate,  declared  "  Matthew  Hale  Carpenter  elected 
to  the  United  States  senate  for  the  term  of  six  years  ending 
March  3,  1875." 

Never  had  an  election  of  this  kind  given  such  apparent 


CONFIRMED.  269 

general  satisfaction  in  the  state,  or  so  universally  touched 
the  popular  chord.  Telegrams,  letters  and  newspapers  con 
taining  congratulatory  expressions  came  pouring  in  from  all 
portions  of  Wisconsin  and  the  northwest,  as  well  as  from 
Washington,  Vermont,  New  York,  Chicago  and  other  cities 
and  states.  It  was  a  proud  day  for  Wisconsin,  a  triumphant 
day  for  Carpenter. 


270  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

» 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

YET  NO  REST. 

His  elevation  to  the  senate  did  not  free  Carpenter  from 
missionary  labors  in  politics.  Not  a  campaign  passed  in 
which  he  was  not  in  demand  on  the  stump.  In  1869  he  ad 
dressed  numerous  mass-meetings,  advocating  the  re-election 
of  Lucius  Fairchild,  the  republican  candidate  for  governor 
of  Wisconsin,  and  in  1870  canvassed  the  state  in  behalf  of 
the  republican  nominees  for  congress,  particularly  urging,  but 
without  success,  the  election  of  Halbert  E.  Paine  over  Alex 
ander  Mitchell.  In  1871  Ex-Senator  James  R.  Doolittle  was 
the  democratic  and  C.  C.  Washburn  the  republican  candidate 
for  governor.  Carpenter  entered  upon  the  canvass  early  and 
opposed  Doolittle  with  earnest  vigor,  making  more  certain 
his  defeat. 

In  1872  he  spoke  in  the  various  congressional  districts,  con 
tributing  materially  to  the  election  of  six  out  of  the  eight 
republican  nominees,  and  delivered  also  several  political  ad 
dresses  in  Illinois  and  adjoining  states,  picturing  the  anoma 
lous  position  of  Horace  Greeley,  the  democratic  candidate  for 
the  presidency.  Everywhere  he  was  greeted  by  large  audi 
ences.  At  Warren,  111.,  on  September  28th,  he  was  welcomed 
with  music  and  cannons,  and  eight  thousand  people  gathered 
through  a  drenching  rain  to  hear  him. 

The  presidential  campaign  of  that  year  was  one  of  vital 
importance.  Greeley  was  on  the  stump  in  his  own  behalf,  jus 
tifying  secession.  All  the  people  lately  in  rebellion  were  back 
in  the  Union  exercising  their  own  right  of  suffrage  and  pre 
venting,  as  much  as  possible,  its  exercise  by  the  Negroes. 
Charles  Sumner  and  N.  P.  Banks,  of  Massachusetts ;  Gen. 
Farnsworth,  of  Illinois;  Carl  Schurz,  of  Missouri,  and  scores 
of  other  influential  republicans  who  had  personal  grievances 
against  Grant,  were  supporting  Greeley,  and  there  was,  for  the 


YET   NO   REST.  271 

first  time  since  the  war,  a  free  rally,  north  and  south,  of  the 
democracy  for  the  purpose  of  undoing  the  results  of  the  Re 
bellion.  Against  the  methods  and  aims  of  such  a  campaign, 
Carpenter  was  perhaps  the  most  conspicuous  political  knight 
in  the  field.  His  matchless  defense  of  Grant  on  the  floor  of  the 
senate  against  the  malignant  assaults  of  Sumner  and  Schurz 
was  circulating  in  every  community,  one  hundred  thousand 
copies  of  it  for  campaign  use  having  been  printed  on  the  first 
order  of  the  national  republican  committee.  His  name  was 
almost  as  familiar  as  that  of  Grant,  and  his  voice  roused 
whole  cities  and  communities  wherever  he  went.  An  imper 
fect  excerpt  from  one  of  his  speeches  in  Illinois  will  show  his 
position : 

But  another  reason  why  Mr.  Greeley  should  not  be  elected  is  that  Mr. 
Greeley  is  a  secessionist.  If  this  charge  can  be  substantiated,  no  honest 
Union  man  —  democrat  or  republican  —  can  vote  for  him.  I  shall  substan 
tiate  it  from  his  own  pen  and  his  own  lips. 

In  the  first  place,  what  do  we  mean  by  a  secessionist?  Simply  this:  A 
man  who  maintains  that  the  people  of  a  state  have  a  right  to  withdraw 
from  the  Union  for  any  cause  which  they  may  determine  justifies  their  doing 
so.  No  southern  man,  not  even  Mr.  Calhoun  or  Jeff.  Davis,  ever  claimed 
that  a  few  conspirators  in  a  state  had  the  right  to  take  a  state  out  of  the 
Union  against  the  will  of  its  people.  But  the  doctrine  of  secession  is,  that 
whenever  the  people  of  a  state  desire  to  leave  the  Union  they  have  a  moral 
right  to  do  so.  Now,  I  charge  that  Mr.  Greeley  was  an  original  secession 
ist,  and  I  charge  that  he  is  a  secessionist  to-day;  and  I  will  prove  this  from 
his  own  writings  and  speaking. 

In  1860  and  1861,  this  question,  the  right  of  secession,  was  the  great 
question  which  engrossed  the  thoughts  of  our  people.  Eleven  states  were 
threatening  to  maintain  this  right  by  an  appeal  to  the  sword ;  and  it  became 
almost  the  only  topic  of  conversation  and  discussion  from  one  end  of  the 
Union  to  the  other.  It  soon  became  evident  that  the  Union  must  be  dis 
solved  or  maintained  at  the  expense  of  war.  Whether  the  government 
could  successfully  wage  a  war  depended  upon  the  question  whether  the 
popular  sentiment  would  sustain  the  government  or  not.  The  excitement 
of  mere  political  and  partisan  discussion,  the  angry  style  of  the  stump,  the 
hurrah  of  caucuses,  had  given  place  to  that  calmer  and  deeper  reflection  of 
a  great  people  who  feel  that  they  are  considering  a  question  which,  decided 
one  way,  must  lead  to  bloodshed  and  war.  While  the  question  was  merely 
political  or  partisan,  men  flippantly  disposed  of  the  arguments  urged  by 
party  opponents.  But  when  the  political  campaign  closed  with  Lincoln's 
election,  and  the  question  still  remained  to  be  settled,  not  by  speeches,  but 


272  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

by  a  struggle  which  must  shake  the  continent;  settled  not  at  the  ballot- 
box,  but  on  the  battle-field ;  determined  not  by  devotion  to  party,  but  by 
patriotism  which  could  endure  the  smell  of  blood  and  survive  the  shock 
of  armies,  then  the  noisy  politicians  moderated  their  frenzy,  and  the  better 
portion  of  our  people,  those  who  are  silent  amid  the  din  of  mere  politics  — 
the  sober,  solid  men  of  the  country  —  came  to  the  front  to  consider  whether 
secession  should  be  permitted  or  war  waged  to  prevent  it 

While  this  solemn  and  painful  reflection  of  a  great  people  held  judgment 
in  suspense,  where  was  Mr.  Greeley  ?  He  was  at  the  head  of  the  most 
influential  journal  in  the  United  States.  The  whole  people  were  his  daily 
audience.  It  was  of  prime  importance  that  his  bugle  should  give  no  un 
certain  sound.  And  it  must  be  confessed,  though  to  his  shame,  that  it  did 
not;  it  rang  out  loud  and  clear  in  favor  of  the  right  of  secession;  and  had 
his  advice  been  followed,  the  Union  would  have  been  dissolved  without  the 
firing  of  a  gun  to  preserve  it.  Mr.  Greeley,  in  those  days,  maintained  the 
right  of  secession  in  plain  words,  supported  by  what  he  called  reasons  and 
arguments.  He  said:  "  If  it  (the  Declaration  of  Independence)  justifies 
the  secession  from  the  British  empire  of  the  three  million  of  colonists  in 
1776,  we  do  not  see  why  it  would  not  justify  the  secession  of  five  million 
southerners  from  the  Federal  Union  in  1861." 

But  the  people  rejected  the  teachings  of  Mr.  Greeley,  and  resolved  that 
the  Union  should  be  preserved,  and  that  war  should  be  waged  to  put  down 
rebellion  and  bury  the  heresy  of  secession.  On  that  appeal  in  the  highest 
forum,  that  appeal  to  God  to  uphold  the  right,  we  succeeded,  and  the  peo 
ple  adopted  the  thirteenth,  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  amendments  to  the  con 
stitution.  We  had  a  right  to  hope  that  the  war  had  solved  the  question,  and 
that  the  amendments  to  the  constitution  had  gathered  up  and  secured  the 
fruits  of  our  victory.  But  in  all  this  we  were  mistaken.  The  present  cam 
paign  opens  the  question  again.  Mr.  Greeley  made  a  speech  at  Pittsburg 
on  the  1 9th  of  this  month.  I  shall  refer  to  the  report  of  that  speech  in 
Mr.  Greeley's  own  organ,  and  shall  read  from  its  text  and  type.  I  read 
from  the  New  York  Tribune  of  the  2oth  of  the  present  month  what  Mr. 
Greeley  said  at  Pittsburg  on  the  ipth,  the  day  before.  Speaking  of  his 
position  in  1860  and  1861,  he  says: 

"  I  denied  that  the  great  majority  of  the  southern  people  were  against 
the  Union.  I  demanded  that  there  should  be  open,  free  discussion;  that 
southern  people  might  have  an  honest,  unterrified,  unconstrained  vote,  and, 
if  they  approved,  if  the  people  of  the  south  said  they  wanted  disunion,  I 
would  consent  to  it.  And  now,  to-day,  if  the  nation  were  to  be  imperiled, 
and  there  were  just  two  modes  of  saving  it,  to  trust  the  chances  of  civil 
war  or  the  chances  of  a  free  vote  of  the  southern  people,  I  would  very 
greatly  prefer  to  take  the  latter  chance  rather  than  the  former." 

Thus  Greeley  was  avowedly  for  secession  in  1860  and  1861,  and  indorses 
to-day  his  old  secession  utterances.  It  is  folly  for  any  one  to  deny  this  or 
attempt  to  explain  it  away.  It  is  equal  folly  to  say  that  secession  is  dead 


YET   NO   REST.  273 

when  we  find  a  presidential  candidate  defending  it  upon  the  stump.  It  may 
be  said,  Mr.  Greeley  says,  that  the  southern  people  will  never  try  secession, 
because  it  is  not  for  their  interest  to  do  so.  But  it  never  was  for  their  in 
terest,  and  yet  they  did  try  it,  and  made  war  on  a  vast  scale  for  four  years 
to  accomplish  it.  It  may  be  said  that  the  amendments  to  the  constitution 
have  swept  slavery  away,  and  therefore  there  is  no  longer  any  motive  for 
secession.  It  is  true  the  amendments,  while  they  continue,  prevent  slavery 
and  establish  equality  of  privileges  and  immunities  among  all  citizens. 
But  can  any  man  say  that  if  the  republican  party  were  to  be  overthrown, 
the  amendments  would  survive?  Judge  Black,  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers 
in  the  United  States,  formerly  attorney-general,  and  secretary  of  state  under 
Buchanan,  supports  Mr.  Greeley  for  President,  and  in  his  published  letter 
to  Mr.  Welch  of  the  Baltimore  Gazette,  August  6,  1872,  he  assigns  his 
reasons  for  doing  so,  as  follows: 

"The  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  amendments  were  frauds  upon  the  spirit 
and  letter  ot  the  instrument,  inasmuch  as  they  effected  the  worst  outrage 
which  it  was  made  to  prevent.  They  were  carried  against  the  known  will 
of  nearly  every  state  in  the  Union,  by  shameless  deception  in  the  north  and 
by  brutal  violence  in  the  south.  Mr.  Greeley's  election  will  not  do  all  that 
we  could  wish  to  free  us  from  the  evils.  It  will  not  even  be  a  popular  con 
demnation  of  the  base  means  by  which  they  were  inflicted  upon  us,  but  it 
-will  begin  the  process  of  their  gradual  extinction" 

Who  can  say  that  Judge  Black  reasons  wildly  upon  this  subject?  When 
his  candidate  for  the  presidency  openly  avows  and  justifies  the  right  of 
secession,  and  that,  too,  within  ten  years  after  the  war,  is  it  difficult  to 
believe  that  within  ten  years  more  the  democratic  party  may  be  attempting 
to  abolish  the  amendments  to  the  constitution,  which  were  adopted  because 
secession  was  overthrown? 

Carpenter  then  turned  his  attention  to  Greeley's  allies, 
particularly  Charles  Sumner: 

We  are  told  that  Mr.  Sumner  supports  Greeley.  He  does.  And  I  desire 
to  show  you  with  what  reason  and  consistency  he  does  so.  He  has  advised 
the  colored  citizens  to  vote  for  Greeley.  In  a  serenade  speech  made  by  him 
in  Washington,  a  few  days  after  giving  that  letter  of  advice,  Mr.  Sumner 
said: 

"  It  is  my  duty  to  remind  you  that  the  work  is  not  yet  accomplished.  This 
will  be  only  by  the  enactment  of  a  civil  rights  bill  which  shall  relieve  the 
citizen,  whoever  he  may  be,  from  any  exclusion  or  discrimination  on  ac 
count  of  his  color." 

And  again,  he  says: 

"  How  constantly  have  I  urged,  in  public  speeches  and  in  all  my  inter 
course  with  you,  that  our  colored  fellow-citizens  must  insist  upon  their 
18 


2 74  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

rights  always,  by  petition,  by  speech  and  by  vote.  Above  all,  never  vote  for 
any  man  who  is  not  true  to  you;  make  allegiance  to  you  the  measure  of 
support'' 

At  the  last  session  of  congress  Mr.  Sumner  introduced  this  "  civil  rights 
bill,"  and  urged  it  upon  the  attention  of  the  senate  in  season  and  out  of 
season,  but  it  did  not  receive  a  single  democratic  vote.  Finally,  after  it  had 
been  shorn  of  its  most  obnoxious  provisions,  put  in  a  milder  and  in  a  con 
stitutional  form,  so  as  to  avoid  all  reasonable  objection  to  it,  it  passed  the 
eenate,  and  the  yeas  and  nays  were  as  follows : 

Teas  —  Ames,  Anthony,  Caldwell,  Cameron,  Carpenter,  Chandler,  Clay 
ton,  Cole,  Conkling,  Corbitt,  Cragin,  Ferry  of  Michigan,  Flanagan,  Freling- 
huysen,  Hamlin,  Logan,  Morrill  of  Vermont,  Nye,  Osborn,  Patterson, 
Pool,  Robertson,  Sawyer,  Scott,  Sprague,  Wilson  and  Wright  —  28. 

Nays — Bayard,  Blair,  Casserly,  Cooper,  Davis  of  West  Virginia,  Ham 
ilton  of  Maryland,  Johnson,  Kelly,  Norwood,  Ransom,  Saulsbury,  Steven 
son,  Thurman  and  Vickers —  14. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  every  senator  who  voted  for  the  bill  is  a  sup 
porter  of  General  Grant  to-day,  and  every  senator  who  voted  against  the 
bill  is  fo-day  opposed  to  Grant.  Several  of  the  Greeley  senators,  especially 
Senator  Thurman,  of  Ohio,  one  of  the  ablest  men  who  support  Mr. 
Greeley  to-day,  made  a  long  speech  to  show  that  it  was  unconstitutional. 

Now,  Mr.  Sumner,  in  effect,  says  to  the  colored  citizens,  you  must  have 
the  civil  rights  bill;  to  get  this  you  must  vote  into  power  all  the  men  op 
posed  to  the  bill,  and  vote  out  of  power  all  the  men  who  support  the  bill; 
because  a  change  of  administration  not  only  gives  a  new  President,  but 
includes  giving  the  control  of  the  government  to  Mr.  Greeley's  friends. 

The  only  ground  upon  which  any  friend  of  Mr.  Sumner  can  vindicate  his 
honesty  is  that  which  I  believe  to  be  true;  that  he  is  a  monomaniac  touch 
ing  Grant's  election;  that  he  is  "mad"  with  disappointment,  hate,  and  a 
thirst  for  revenge,  and  that  upon  any  question  which  may  affect  the  chances 
of  Grant's  election,  Mr.  Sumner  is  wholly  unsound  in  mind.  And  I  feel 
grateful  to  his  physician  for  sending  him  over  the  ocean,  and  I  pray  God 
that  its  cool  breezes  may  allay  the  "  fever  of  his  brain,"  and  that  he  may- 
return  in  mental  health  to  the  discharge  of  his  duties  in  the  senate.  There 
is  much  in  the  life  of  Sumner  to  be  admired,  and  it  is  a  melancholy  specta 
cle  to  see  so  bright  a  sun  go  down  in  darkness, 

"  No  good  omens  cheering." 

During  this  campaign  Carpenter  went  to  Rochester,  Minn., 
to  defend  Dr.  E.  C.  Cross  against  a  suit  for  malpractice. 
After  an  exciting  trial  he  secured  a  verdict  for  his  client, 
and  was  at  once  called  on  for  a  campaign  speech.  He  ac 
ceded  to  the  request  and  was  met  by  a  large  audience.  His 


YET  NO  REST.  275 

speech  was  received  with  such  enthusiasm  that  a  demand  that 
he  remain  in  the  state  on  the  stump  was  made,  but  could  not  be 
complied  with.  The  local  papers  pronounced  the  address 
the  most  eloquent,  convincing  and  entertaining  that  had  ever 
been  heard  in  Minnesota. 

No  man  emerged  from  the  bitter  and  exciting  campaign 
of  1872  with  more  honors  than  Carpenter.  In  1873  ^e  to°k 
no  part  in  the  gubernatorial  campaign  of  Wisconsin1  — 
grangerism  was  rampant,  Washburn  was  "  snowed  under," 
and  the  "  reform  democracy  "  elected  Wm.  R.  Taylor  to  the 
governorship  by  fifteen  thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  majority. 

1  The  reasons  for  this  inactivity  are  explained  by  the  letter  on  page  309. 


276  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

SHOCKING  POLITICAL  ADULTERY. 

Carpenter's  second  campaign  for  the  senatorship  was,  per 
haps,  more  worthy  of  remark  than  the  first.  In  its  exam 
ination  we  come  upon  the  first  political  simony  in  the  history 
of  the  republican  party  in  Wisconsin.  He  took  but  little 
part  in  the  preliminary  skirmish,  but  had  numerous  warm 
supporters  among  the  newspapers  and  leading  men  of  the 
state  and  among  the  masses.  He  likewise  was  opposed  by 
a  few  able  and  bitter  enemies.  A.  M.  Thomson,  who  was 
first  to  bring  him  before  the  public  in  1868,  had  become 
a  relentless  foe,  and  gave  the  key-note  to  the  opposition  in 
articles  of  extreme  attack  under  the  startling  title  of  "  Six 
Years  of  Sin."  Wisconsin,  the  year  before,  had  elected  a 
democratic  governor  and  legislature  by  a  heavy  majority. 
The  republicans  were  sore  and  disheartened,  while  their  op 
ponents  were  enthusiastic  and  aggressive.  Carpenter  was 
less  anxious  for  a  re-election  than  he  had  been,  and  it  was 
for  some  time  an  open  question  whether  he  would  be  a  candi 
date  again.  The  earlier  status  of  affairs  is  well  described 
in  this  letter; 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  March  24,  1874. 

MY  DEAR  PAYNE: — Yours  of  the  iSth  received,  for  which  accept  my 
thanks.  Whether  I  shall  or  shall  not  be  a  candidate  for  re-election  depends 
entirely  upon  the  wishes  of  the  republican  party.  I  am  perfectly  willing  to  go 
in  and  make  a  canvass  of  the  state  as  a  candidate  for  the  senate,  if  my  friends 
desire  me  to  do  so.  I  am  certainly  not  coward  enough  to  desert  the  party  in 
stress  of  weather,  nor  selfish  enough  to  shelter  myself  from  the  storm,  leav 
ing  my  friends  exposed.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  men  who  have  a  right 
to  be  consulted  are  of  the  opinion  that  I  have  become  unpopular  in  conse 
quence  of  back-pay  or  anything  else,  it  is  my  duty  to  stand  aside  and  not 
be  a  drag  upon  the  party.  So  the  whole  matter  is  with  you  and  my  other 
friends  of  determining  what  course  shall  be  pursued.  Looking  simply  to 
my  pecuniary  interests,  I  should  not  be  a  candidate.  It  is  impossible  for  me 
to  save  a  cent,  and  I  have  to  work  like  a  slave  night  and  day  practicing 


SHOCKING   POLITICAL   ADULTERY.  277 

law  here  in  Washington  to  get  the  means  of  eking  out  my  salary  so  as  to 
meet  my  bills.  This  compels  me  to  work  very  hard,  for  which  I  get  no 
reward  except  kicking  and  cuffing  from  Maine  to  California;  so  that  per 
sonally  I  am  not  dying  to  be  re-elected.  But,  as  I  said  before,  the  matter 
rests  entirely  with  our  friends.  If  they  desire  me  to  run,  1  shall;  if  not,  I 
shall  not.  Washburn  was  here  the  other  day  and  I  had  a  long  and  pleasant 
conversation  with  him.  He  assured  me  that  all  I  had  seen  in  the  papers  or 
heard  in  conversation  in  regard  to  his  being  a  candidate  for  the  senate  was 
without  his  authority  and  against  his  wishes.  I  can  not  believe  he  is  such 
a  hypocrite  as  to  talk  in  that  way  to  me  and  still  be  announcing  himself  at 
home  as  a  candidate.  I  have  not  the  slightest  fear  of  Mr.  Washburn ;  so, 
if  my  friends  want  me  to  run,  I  shall  run.  Again  accept  my  thanks  for 
your  letter,  and  believe  me,  Yours  truly, 

MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 
To  Henry  C.  Payne,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Carpenter  now  sent  letters  to  a  large  number  of  the  lead 
ing  republicans,  asking  whether  the  party  would  be  better 
served  by  his  withdrawal  or  by  his  candidacy.  All  but  two 
answered  that  he  must  be  a  candidate.  He  therefore  de 
cided  the  canvass  should  be  made.  His  entire  personal 
efforts  were  directed  toward  overcoming  the  democratic 
victory  of  the  previous  year  and  securing  a  republican  legis 
lature.  With  this  end  in  view  he  visited  all  the  close  and 
doubtful  districts,  addressing  about  forty  regular  mass-meet 
ings,  besides  speaking  several  times  with  others.  During  the 
last  two  weeks  of  the  campaign  he  delivered  two  speeches 
daily.  At  Black  River  Falls  his  presence  called  together 
the  largest  crowd  ever  seen  at  a  political  meeting  in  that 
county.  At  Mauston  the  largest  church  edifice  was  opened 
to  him,  and  it  was  filled,  the  local  paper  recorded,  "  inside  and 
outside."  At  the  close  of  the  address,  when  three  cheers  were 
proposed  for  "  Matt.  Carpenter,"  ladies  climbed  on  the  seats 
in  the  furor  of  excitement  and  waved  their  handkerchiefs 
and  shouted  as  though  they  were  voters.  At  Beloit,  his  old 
home,  all  the  inhabitants  turned  out  to  do  him  honor.  As  at 
Mauston,  the  building  was  filled  "  inside  and  outside." 


278  LIFE  OF  CARPENTER. 

THE  FLOOD-GATES  OPENED. 

While  he  was  thus  rousing  the  masses  and  leading  them 
to  vote  the  republican  ticket,  his  enemies  —  perhaps  it  would 
be  better  to  say  rivals  —  in  his  own  party  were  busy  with 
floods  of  falsehood  and  detraction.  He  was  reviled  for  hav 
ing  voted  for  the  "back-pay  steal;"  but,  having  defended 
his  action  in  that  regard  in  the  Janesville  speech  of  1873 l 
and  on  the  floor  of  the  senate,  and  having  voted  for  the  re 
peal  of  the  law,  this  indictment  had  little  or  no  effect.  He 
was  charged  with  actually  receiving  pay  for  his  legal  services ; 
denounced  as  a  tyrant  by  the  newspapers  for  having  voted 
for  the  "Poland  gag-law,"  as  it  was  falsely  termed;  assailed 
by  aggregated  capital  as  a  communist  for  having  espoused 
the  cause  of  the  people  against  the  corporations  in  defending 
the  validity  of  the  Potter  railroad  law;  slandered  because  he 
opposed  the  claims  of  Governor  Kellogg  in  the  Louisiana 
muddle  on  the  floor  of  the  senate,  but  advocated  certain  legal 
branches  of  them  for  a  fee,  as  an  attorney  before  the  supreme 
court. 

It  is  generally  unwise  to  attempt  to  refute  slanders,  but  as 
a  refutation  of  some  of  the  falsehoods  circulated  against 
Carpenter  will  contain  historical  facts,  it  may  be  given  for 
that  reason  and  to  show  how  close  partisan  newspapers 
come  to  total  depravity: 

MILWAUKEE,  Sept  30,  1874 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chicago  Tribune: 
Your  paper  of  September  29th  contained  the  following : 
"WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Sept.  28.  —  The  connection  of  Senator  Carpenter 
and  Benjamin  F.  Butler  with  Louisiana  affairs,  of  which  recent  New  Orleans 
dispatches  afford  an  inkling,  is  very  freely  discussed  here.     They  both  are 
charged  with  playing  a  double  game.     Certain  Kellogg  office-holders  here, 
high  in  the  confidence  of  that  timid  gentleman,  are  quite  bold  in  declaring 
that  Carpenter  bled  Kellogg.     He  demanded  $5,000  for  delivering  an  argu 
ment  of  twenty  or  twenty-five   minutes  in  the  matter  of  the  writ  of  prohi 
bition.     Three  thousand  dollars  were  paid  him  prior  to  the  i6th  of  January, 

1  Referred  to  in  extenso  on  page  4.55. 


THE   FLOOD-GATES   OPENED.  279 

1873.  The  Kellogg  folks  thought  they  had  paid  him  enough,  as  Caleb  Gush 
ing,  a  better  lawyer,  had  charged  for  similar  services  only  $2,000.  On  the 
day  mentioned,  January  16,  1873,  the  Louisiana  matter  was  under  discus 
sion  in  the  senate,  and,  in  replying  to  remarks  of  Judge  Thurman,  Mr. 
Carpenter  defended  Judge  Durell,  and  commended  his  course.  Since  that 
time,  as  is  well  known,  he  has  denounced  Durell.  At  the  time  he  intro 
duced  his  bill  providing  for  a  new  election  in  Louisiana,  Mr.  Howe,  his  col 
league,  presented  an  amendment  that,  pending  the  new  election,  the  Kellogg 
government  should  be  recognized.  This  was  opposed  by  Thut  man  and 
others,  on  the  ground  that  it  would  be  a  congressional  recognition  of  an 
usurpation.  The  amendment  was  successful  by  a  majority  of  one,  and  it 
is  noticeable  that  Carpenter  voted  in  its  favor,  thereby  carrying  it.  This  is 
pointed  at  as  showing  how  he  veered  from  one  side  to  the  other,  in  order  to 
make  all  edges  cut.  Up  to  the  time  that  Carpenter  made  his  famous 
speech  in  New  Orleans  —  which  was  in  May,  1873  —  he  had  only  received 
$3,000  from  Kellogg,  while  he  was  demanding  $5,000.  During  his  stay  in 
New  Orleans,  however,  he  received  $1,000  more,  and  last  December  he 
was  paid  an  additional  $500,  making  in  all  $4,500."  9 

I  was  previously  aware  that  much  falsehood  could  be  crowded  into 
a  short  paragraph,  but  this  surpasses  all  I  have  ever  seen  in  that  respect 
Let  me  point  out  a  few  ot  its  misrepresentations.  Your  correspondent 
says: 

(1)  "  He  demanded    $5,000   for   delivering   an    argument  of  twenty   or 
twenty-five  minutes,  in  the  matter  of  the  writ  of  prohibition." 

This  is  untrue.     I  never  made  any  such  demand. 

(2)  "Three  thousand  dollars  were  paid  him  prior  to  January  16,  1873." 
This  is  untrue. 

(3)  "  On  the  day  mentioned,  January  16,  1873,  the  Louisiana  matter  was 
under  discussion  in  the  senate,  and,  in  replying  to  remarks  of  Judge  Thur 
man,  Mr.  Carpenter  defended  Judge  Durell  and  commended  his  course." 

This  is  untrue,  as  you  mi^ht  have  seen  by  examining  the  Congressional 
Globe  before  publishing  this  falsehood.  That  debate  was  on  the  introduc 
tion  of  Morton's  resolution  directing  an  inquiry,  and  before  the  facts  of  the 
case  were  known ;  and  the  debate  turned  entirely  on  points  of  law  touching, 
the  power  of  employing  the  troops  as  a.  fosse  comitatus,  and  the  jurisdiction 
of  federal  courts  under  the  reconstruction  acts  of  congress.  I  neither  de 
fended  Judge  Durell  nor  commended  his  course. 

(4)  "  At  the  time  he  introduced  his  bill  providing  for  a  new  election  in 
Louisiana,  Mr.  Howe,  his  colleague,  presented  an  amendment  that,  pending 
the  new  election,  the  Kellogg  government  should  be  recognized.    This  was 
opposed  by  Thurman  and  others  on  the  ground  that  it  would  be  a  congres 
sional  recognition  of  an  usurpation.     The  amendment  was  successful  by  a- 
majority  of  one,  and  it  is  noticeable  that  Carpenter  voted  in  its  favor, 
thereby  carrying  it." 


280  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

Who  or  what  should  be  the  government  for  the  few  days  during  which 
an  election  should  be  held  was  a  matter  of  small  practical  moment  I 
thought  the  more  logical  way  was  to  leave  the  old  Warmoth  government; 
but  Senators  Howe,  Hamlin,  Sherman  and  others  would  not  vote  for  the 
bill  without  the  amendment,  but  would  support  the  bill  with  the  amend 
ment  Regarding  the  amendment  as  of  no  practical  consequence,  I  con 
sented  to  it  and  voted  for  it,  hoping  thus  to  pass  the  bill  and  secure  an 
election,  which  was  the  practical  end  in  view. 

Having  disposed  of  these  specific  misrepresentations,  let  me  state  the 
fact: 

In  December,  1872,  the  Hon.  Caleb  Gushing  called  on  me  and  retained 
me  to  assist  him  for  Kellogg,  to  argue  the  question  of  the  power  of  the 
supreme  court  of  the  United  States  to  issue  a  writ  of  prohibition  to  a  cir 
cuit  court  of  the  United  States  in  an  equity  case,  prior  to  a  final  decree  in 
the  circuit  court. 

I  examined  the  question  fully  and  devoted  considerable  time  to  prepara 
tion  for  the  argument,  and  afterwards  Mr.  Gushing  and  myself  argued  the 
case,  and  it  is  reported  in  17  Wallace  Reports,  64. 

As  Mr.  Gushing  had  retained  me  and  knew  what  I  had  done,  I  consulted 
with  him  as  to  what  my  charge  should  be.  He  named  $3,000,  and  said  he 
would  send  my  bill  with  his  own,  and,  when  he  received  the  money,  would 
pav  me.  I  suppose  he  did  send  my  bill,  because  the  first  money  I  received 
was  part  ot  a  remittance  from  Kellogg  to  Mr.  Gushing,  which  Mr.  Gushing 
forwarded  to  me.  The  balance  of  my  bill  was  paid  at  different  times  —  the 
last  $500  in  December  last.  All  I  charged  was  $3,000,  and  that  was  all 
the  money  I  ever  received  from  Mr.  Kellogg,  and  that,  I  understand,  was 
appropriated  by  the  legislature.  I  wrote  several  letters  to  Kellogg  asking 
for  money,  and  he  gave  various  reasons  for  the  delay,  but  never  objected 
to  the  amount  charged. 

The  Milwaukee  News  of  the  3oth  ult.  has  the  following: 

"  NEW  ORLEANS,  Sept.  29. —  The  following  is  a  copy  of  Senator  Carpen 
ter's  letter  to  Governor  Kellogg,  taken  by  the  New  York  Tribune  cor 
respondent  from  the  original.  A  great  deal  of  difficulty  was  found  in 
obtaining  it,  owing  to  the  unwillingness  of  some  of  the  conservative  leaders 
to  use  it  against  Carpenter: 

'"DEAR  KELLOGG:  I  am  desperately  short.  Can't  you  send  me  $1,000? 
If  so,  it  would  be  a  God-send.  Yours  truly, 

" '  ist  Aug.,  1873.  MATT.  H.  CARPENTER.'  " 

In  reply  to  this  letter,  if  my  recollection  serves  me,  Mr.  Kellogg  sent  me 
$500,  and  promised  the  balance,  $500,  in  a  short  time,  and  did  finally 
pay  it  in  December  last.  All  my  letters  stolen  from  Kel'ogg  I  give  full 
permission  to  have  published.  My  friends  in  New  Orleans  need  not  have 
.the  slightest  fear  that  their  publication  will  harm  me. 

The  question  I  was  retained  to  argue  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  merit* 


THE   FLOOD-GATES   OPENED.  281 

of  the  Louisiana  case,  and  it  might  as  well  have  arisen  in  a  suit  to  fore 
close  a  mortgage  as  in  the  Kellogg  suit. 

My  services  had  been  performed,  the  case  decided,  my  bill  rendered,  and 
my  connection  with  the  case  entirely  ended,  before  any  proceedings  were 
either  taken,  or  expected  to  be  taken,  in  congress.  Senator  Morton  after 
wards,  on  the  i6th  of  January,  1873,  introduced  a  resolution  directing  the 
committee  to  inquire  into  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Louisiana.  I  was  on 
that  committee,  and  Mr.  Morton  was  its  chairman.  A  majority  of  the  com 
mittee  came  to  the  conclusion  that  Kellogg  had  not  been  elected,  and  was 
a  usurper,  and  reported  a  bill  for  a  new  election.  I  drew  the  report  made 
by  the  majority  against  Kellogg,  and  Mr.  Morton  made  a  minority  report, 
holding  that  Kellogg  was  legally  the  governor  of  the  state.  This  was 
February  20,  1873.  The  bill  for  a  new  election  was  debated  in  the  senate, 
and  I  made  two  speeches  in  favor  of  its  passage,  and  the  bill  was  defeated  by 
only  one  or  two  majority. 

At  the  late  session,  on  the  6th  day  of  February,  1874,  ^  introduced 
another  bill  for  a  new  election  in  Louisiana,  and  made  two  speeches  in 
favor  of  its  passage  —  one  on  the  2pth  and  3Oth  of  January,  1874,  anc*  the 
other  on  the  4th  of  March,  1874  —  both  of  which  may  be  found  in  full  in 
the  Congressional  Record. 

No  one  who  will  examine  my  record  on  the  Louisiana  matter  can  be 
made  to  believe  that  I  was  bribed  by  Mr.  Kellogg;  as  everything  I  have 
said  and  done  in  the  premises,  in  the  senate  or  before  the  people,  has  pro 
ceeded  upon  the  ground,  and  been  intended  to  prove,  that  Mr.  Kellogg  was 
not  the  legal  governor  of  the  state,  and  had  no  right  whatever  to  that 
office.  And  the  attempt  to  injure  me  in  this  particular  is  only  a  part  of 
the  general  conspiracy  to  "  get  even  "  with  me,  without  regard  to  truth  or 
justice.  MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 

A  letter  from  Samuel  F.  Miller,  associate  justice  of  the 
United  States  supreme  court,  may  be  quoted,  simply  to  illus 
trate  the  noble  defenders  had  by  Carpenter  against  his  per 
sistent  defamers: 

WASHINGTON,  Oct.  9,  1874. 

MY  DEAR  CARPENTER  : —  I  think  you  are  the  best  slandered  man  in  the 
United  States,  if  a  close  observation  of  current  newspaper  gossip  is  any  evi 
dence  of  the  attention  you  receive  in  that  way. 

On  my  way  home  from  St.  Louis,  I  tbund  the  papers  filled  with  the 
story  of  your  being  bribed  in  the  Kellogg  case. 

If  there  is  any  man  in  the  United  States  who  has  done  more  than  any 
other  to  influence  public  sentiment  against  Governor  Kellogg,  it  has  been 
you,  in  your  report  and  speeches  in  the  United  States  senate.  How  absurd, 
then,  to  charge  that,  because  you  received  a  fee  from  him  as  a  lawyer,  to 


282  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

appear  for  him  in  the  supreme  court  and  argue  against  the  jurisdiction  of 
which  Warmoth  sought,  the  exercise  against  Kellogg,  you  are  therefore 
bribed,  and  are  a  corrupt  senator. 

The  case  was  a  very  important  one,  and  was  so  regarded  by  the  court; 
and  the  service  which  you  rendered  the  court  in  arriving  at  a  sound  con 
clusion  was  very  useful  to  us. 

The  sum  of  $3,000  was  by  no  means  an  unusual  or  undeserved  fee  for 
such  services  in  such  a  case. 

It  is  long  since  I  have  sought  to  mingle  in  the  strife  of  politics.  It  is  a 
thing  for  which  I  have  a  great  distaste. 

But  I  should  esteem  it  both  a  personal  and  public  misfortune  if  the  state 
of  Wisconsin  should  fail  to  recognize  the  value  of  your  services,  and  to 
retain  you  as  its  senator,  until  you  have  done  something  worse  than  receive 
a  reasonable  fee  for  valuable  services  in  the  supreme  court  of  the  United 
States.  *  *  *  I  am  your  friend, 

(Signed)  SAM.  F.  MILLER. 

THE  POLAND  "GAG-LAW." 

As  to  the  so-called  "  Poland  gag-law,"  Carpenter  did  vote 
for  it.1  As  a  part  of  the  slanderous  ooze  he  was  compelled 
to  stem,  this  law  may  be  examined.  In  1870,  the  police 
court  of  the  District  of  Columbia  was  established.  It  was 
given  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  certain  criminal  matters.  That 
is,  no  other  court  in  the  district  could  try  the  class  of  cases 
named  in  the  act.  As  this  court  was  constituted  without  a 
jury,  the  supreme  court  held  that  it  had  no  constitutional 
jurisdiction,  as  the  sixth  amendment  guaranties  to  the  ac 
cused  a  trial  by  jury.  Therefore,  certain  crimes  committed 
in  the  District  of  Columbia  could  not  be  tried  at  all.  To 
cure  this  demoralizing  state  of  affairs,  the  Poland  law  was 
enacted,  in  June,  1874.  ^  simply  transferred  jurisdiction  of 
the  cases  which  could  not  before  be  tried,  to  the  criminal 
court,  which  had  a  jury. 

The  common  people,  not  knowing  the  defect  it  was  in 
tended  to  cure,  not  understanding  that  it  was  a  necessity  to 
prevent  a  saturnalia  of  crime  in  Washington,  were  made  to  be 
lieve  that  Carpenter  had  "  devised  a  gag-law  by  which  he 

1"  An  act  conferring  jurisdiction  upon  the  criminal  court  of  the  District 
of  Columbia,  and  for  that  purpose." 


WASHBURN   AND   HOWE.  283 

could  prevent  the  exposure  by  an  untrammeled  press  of  his 
wicked  practices."  The  argument  by  which  such  a  belief  was 
established  was  to  the  effect  that  Carpenter  could  sit  in  his 
office  at  Washington  and  bring  to  that  city,  upon  a  trumped- 
up  charge  of  libel,  every  newspaper  publisher  in  the  United 
States  —  a  power  that  muzzled  the  press.  As  we  now  see, 
he  could  do  nothing  of  the  kind.  Baser  depravity  in  politi 
cal  misrepresentation  was  never  known.1 

WASHBURN  AND  HOWE 

Notwithstanding  the  declaration  of  C.  C.  Washburn  to 
Carpenter  (mentioned  in  the  letter  to  Henry  C.  Payne)  that 
he  should  not  be  a  candidate,  he,  nevertheless,  through  his 
newspapers  and  friends,  was  busy  securing  support.  This  led 
to  the  writing  of  many  letters  to  Senator  T.  O.  Howe,  Carpen 
ter's  colleague,  asking  which  of  the  two  should  be  chosen. 
Mr.  Howe  answered  these  letters  in  favor  of  Carpenter. 
In  one  to  John  D.  Markham,  of  Manitowoc,  under  date  of 
November  24,  1874,  ne  gave  his  reasons  at  length,  which 
were  published.  After  a  generous  tribute  to  Carpenter's 
ability,  he  spoke  of  the  two  men  together: 

In  fact,  one  seems  to  be  on  trial,  while  the  other  is  not.  To  elect  Wash- 
burn  is  to  say  that  Carpenter  is  guilty.  To  elect  Carpenter  does  not  say 
that  Washburn  is  guilty,  but  only  that  Carpenter  is  not  guilty.  But  is 
Carpenter  guilty?  Guilty  of  what?  Not  of  that  vague,  nebulous,  flaccu- 
lent,  turgid  fog  of  reproach,  under  which  some  opposition  newspapers  have 
tried  to  bury  him  for  a  few  years  past.  He  is  already  acquitted  of  that. 
He  is  acquitted  of  that  by  the  senate,  which  made  him  its  presiding  officer. 
He  is  acquitted  of  that  by  the  crowds  of  our  fellow-citizens  who  have 

1  In  January,  1875,  the  senate  committee,  consisting  of  Geo.  F.  Edmunds, 
Roscoe  Conkling,  Fred.  T.  Frelinghuysen,  Geo.  W.  Wright,  Allen  G.  Thur- 
man  and  J.  W.  Stevenson,  in  reporting  the  scope  of  the  Poland  law,  said: 
u  No  person  can  be  brought  into  the  District  of  Columbia  under  it,  either 
tor  libel  or  any  other  crime.  The  committee  are  of  opinion  that  both  sec 
tions  of  the  act  are  necessary  and  proper,  and  in  perfect  accordance  with 
the  principles  of  justice  and  of  civilized  jurisprudence.  Without  provisions 
of  this  character  the  District  of  Columbia  would  bean  asylum  for  offenders 
committing  crimes  against  the  laws  of  the  United  States  and  escaping 
hither." 


284  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

gathered  to  hear  him  speak  in  the  name  of  republicanism  during  the  past 
autumn.  He  is  acquitted  of  that  by  every  decent  man  or  woman  who  ad 
mits  him  to  the  parlor  or  who  bows  to  him  on  the  street.  He  must  be 
acquitted  of  that  by  every  man  who  is  not  willing  to  expose  his  own  char 
acter  to  the  remorseless  corrosion  of  that  subtle,  but  spumy  slander  against 
which  the  most  exalted  character  is  helpless. 

Of  what  was  daintily  termed  the  "back-pay  steal,"  Mr. 
Howe  said: 

If  the  people  never  mean  to  forgive  a  mistake  in  a  public  servant,  then 
they  can  not  consent  to  Mr.  Carpenter's  re-election.  Nor  can  they  consent 
to  the  election  of  Gov.  Washburn.  He  made  the  same  mistake,  as  is  well 
known,  in  1856. 

Public  justice  has  sometimes  been  subjected  to  the  reproach  of  imposing 
penalties  for  an  offense  committed  by  one  and  excusing  the  same  offense 
committed  by  another.  But  public  justice  was  never  so  blind  as,  having 
two  men  at  its  bar  at  the  same  time  and  equally  delinquent,  to  crucify  one 
and  crown  the  other. 

But  while  this  vote  is  remembered  against  Mr.  Carpenter,  some  things 
should  be  remembered  to  his  praise.  When  he  was  elected  to  the  senate 
six  years  ago,  many  thought  the  party  assumed  a  grave  risk,  on  the  score 
of  his  fidelity.  But  for  six  years  he  has  been  faithful  even  where  others, 
more  trusted,  have  been  faithless.  He  has  kept  all  the  instructions  the 
party  has  given  him.  When  he  has  erred,  he  has  erred  for  want  of  instruc 
tion.  Moreover,  during  his  first  term  he  has  achieved  the  first  honor  of  the 
senate,  and  he  has  done  as  much  to  distinguish  Wisconsin  and  to  distinguish 
the  west  as  any  one  whom  the  west  ever  sent  to  Washington.  And  while  I  do 
not  mean  to  disparage  the  efforts  of  others,  I  think  no  one  man  has  done  so 
much  as  he  in  the  late  canvass  to  rescue  the  republican  party  in  Wisconsin 
from  the  defeat  which  surprised  it  one  year  ago.  We  ought  to  be  just  if  we 
can  not  be  generous. 

THE  COMBAT  DEEPENS 

Having  rendered  effective  service  in  securing  the  election 
of  a  republican  legislature  —  eighty-one  republicans  to  fifty- 
two  democrats  —  Carpenter  returned  to  Washington,  where 
congress  was  in  session.  There  he  remained  until  sent  for 
by  his  friends  after  the  legislature  had  convened,  which  it  did 
January  13,  1875.  Washburn  and  a  stud  of  "  dark  horses  " 
were  present,  all  working,  as  the)'-  had  been  during  the 
autumn,  against  Carpenter.  Washburn,  however,  was  the 


THE   COMBAT   DEEPENS.  285 

only  formidable  competitor.  That  he  was  in  the  field  at  all 
occasioned  some  comment  among  Carpenter's  friends.  In 
1871,  when  he  desired  to  be  elected  governor,  he  wrote  a 
letter l  to  Jeremiah  M.  Rusk,  of  Vernon  county,  upon  which 
Carpenter  and  Howe  and  their  friends  helped  him  to  the 
coveted  nomination  and  election,  expecting  in  return  Wash- 
burn's  good  offices  in  their  behalf  if  they  should  be  candi 
dates  for  re-election  to  the  United  States  senate.  Later 
than  this  Washburn  personally  assured  Carpenter  that  he 
should  not  be  a  candidate  against  him. 

That  these  promises  were  not  well  kept  was  not  the  chief 
surprise  in  store.  As  soon  as  the  legislature  had  convened, 
it  became  apparent  that  a  majority  of  the  republican  mem 
bers  favored  the  re-election  of  Carpenter.  When,  therefore, 
it  seemed  clear  that  no  intrigue,  attack  or  combination  could 
prevent  his  nomination,  a  majority  of  the  supporters  of 
Washburn 2  announced  that  they  should  not  enter  the  caucus, 

1  This  is  the  letter : 

LA  CROSSE,  April  17,  1871. 

DEAR  GENERAL: — Your  favors  of  the  I2th  inst.  have  been  received.  If 
I  am  to  be  a  candidate  for  governor,  I  want  it  to  be  with  the  approval  of  my 
late  colleagues,  and  of  the  leading  men  of  the  state.  I  should  esteem 
highly  a  nomination  that  did  not  have  to  be  fought  for,  but  any  other  I 
would  not  have. 

As  to  the  senator  ship,  you  can  say  that  I  shall  never  contest  for  that  position 
against  either  Ho^ve  or  Carpenter.  I  have  had  my  contest  with  both  of  these 
gentlemen,  and  I  do  not  care  to  renew  it.  If  I  am  to  be  a  candidate  for 
governor,  I  had  rather  that  the  press  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  state  should 
initiate  the  movement,  if  they  are  so  disposed.  I  hope  to  see  you  here  be 
fore  long,  when  I  can  more  freely  talk  these  matters  over  with  you. 

Truly  yours,  C.  C.  WASHBURN, 

2  B.  M.  Coates,  B.  F.  Washburn,  J.  R.  Rowlands,  Ole  Anderson,  Kearton 
Coates,   S.  L.  Nevins,  John   Bradley,  Frank  Leach,  D.  E.  Welch,   R.  C. 
Field,  Charles  Dunlap,  John  Schuette,  Marvin  Osborne,  J.  E.  Newell,  Rob 
ert  Mitchell,  J.  B.  Dwinnell,  Marcus  Barden,  L.  W.  Barden,  N.  D.  Corn- 
stock  and   L.  S.  Chase,  all  republicans,  refused  to  enter  the  republican 
caucus.     They  issued  an  "address,"  stating  among  their  reasons  for  such 
action,  that  the  time  of  holding  the  caucus  did  not  suit  them,  and  that  "  At 
the  time  of  our  election  we  were  either  pledged  to  oppose  the  re-election  of 
Mr.  Carpenter,  or  it  was  understood  between  us  and  our  constituents  that 
we  would  do  so."     They  did  not,  by  refusing  to  enter  the  caucus,  make 
their  opposition  to  Carpenter  felt  in  the  usual  and  legitimate  way,  but  sim 
ply  broke  loose  from  ordinary  party  usages. 


286  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

and  at  the  joint  meeting  of  the  two  houses  they  should  bolt 
and  prevent  Carpenter's  election.  This  was  not  gener 
ally  believed.  Carpenter  himself  laughingly  cast  the  an 
nouncement  aside,  saying  Washburn,  who  had  profited 
by  family  harmony,  would  not  permit  his  friends  to  partici 
pate  in  political  treason.  The  press  of  the  state,  almost 
without  exception,  denounced  the  originators  of  the  plan,  and 
called  upon  Washburn  to  set  his  foot  at  once  upon  the  neck 
of  the  uncoiling  serpent  of  rebellion.  The  Milwaukee 
Evening  Wisconsin  begged  him  to  come  to  the  front,  as  it 
was  believed  he  could,  and  prevent  a  rupture  of  the  party, 
and  possibly  the  election  of  a  democrat,  by  throwing  his  in 
fluence  and  that  of  his  friends  for  Carpenter,  the  same  as 
Carpenter  would  do  if  Washburn  should  receive  the  caucus 
nomination,  saying:  "  Washburn  has  received  repeated  nom 
inations  and  elections  through  the  action  of  party  discipline, 
and  he  is  not  the  man  to  pull  down  the  house  -which  he  lias  built 
up." 

Thus,  with  the  public  atmosphere  weighted  with  the 
threats  of  Washburn's  supporters  and  with  the  appeals  of 
the  entire  party  against  them,  the  caucus  of  the  republican 
members  was  called  to  order  in  the  senate  chamber  at  8 
o'clock  P.  M.,  January  22,  1875,  by  Senator  Horatio  N.  Davis, 
of  Beloit.  Senator  John  C.  Holloway  was  chosen  chairman 
and  S.  A.  Harrison  and  Rockwell  J.  Flint  were  made  secre 
taries.  Senator  John  B.  Quimby's  motion  for  a  viva  voce  * 
vote  was  carried,  and  then  Senator  Henry  D.  Barron,  of 
Polk,  presented  Carpenter  for  re-election.  He  said  it  was 
the  desire  of  every  public  official  to  serve  his  country  and 
his  constituents  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  and  he  thought 
those  assembled  around  him  could  not  more  fully  gratify 
that  ambition  than  by  returning  Carpenter  to  the  senate. 
"  Not  one  of  us,"  he  said,  "  could  travel  in  any  of  the  states 
of  this  Union,  during  the  senatorial  agitations  of  this  year, 
without  hearing  eulogies  uttered  and  admiration  daily  ex- 

1  This  is  the  first  time  the  friends  of  any  senatorial  candidate  in  Wiscon 
sin  ever  felt  strong  enough  to  have  a  viva  voce  vote. 


THE   COMBAT    DEEPENS.  287 

pressed  in  connection  with  his  name.  Words  concerning 
him  are  such  as  were  heard  in  the  days  of  Daniel  Webster. 
Carpenter  has  made  Wisconsin  known  throughout  the  land. 
He  has  impressed  the  country  with  the  thought  that  such  a 
senator  must  have  an  intellectual  and  discerning  constituency." 
Gen.  George  E.  Bryant,  a  senator  from  Madison,  was  not 
personally  favorable  to  Carpenter,  but  in  a  speech  of  some 
eloquence  declared  he  \vas  compelled  to  vote  for  him : 

I  give  my  vote  for  Carpenter  to-night,  because  the  lovers  of  universal 
freedom  throughout  the  United  States  demand  it.  I  give  my  vote  to  Car 
penter,  because  my  old  comrades  in  arms,  soldiers  who  served  with  me  in 
days  that  tried  men's  souls,  and  showed  of  what  metal  they  were  made, 
demand  it.  I  give  my  vote  to  Carpenter,  because  the  great  industrial 
interests  of  the  northwest  demand  it.  I  give  my  vote  to  Carpenter,  be 
cause  four  millions  of  loyal  citizens,  from  whom  Abraham  Lincoln  struck 
the  accursed  shackles  of  slavery,  demand  it.  I  give  my  vote  for  Carpenter, 
because  I  believe  the  intelligent  sentiment  of  my  district,  the  men  who 
make  and  mould  public  opinion,  demand  it.  And  lastly,  I  give  my  vote 
for  Carpenter,  because  duty  — earnest,  stern  and  conscientious  duty  —  de 
mands  it. 

The  informal  vote  showed  fifty-nine  members  present  and 
voting,  as  follows: 

For  Matt.  H.  Carpenter — Henry  D.  Barren,  Robt.  H.  Baker,  George 
E.  Bryant,  H.  N.  Davis,  Wm.  H.  Hiner,  R.  L.  D.  Potter,  Wm.  P.  Rounds, 
T.  D.  Weeks,  Andrew  Barlass,  Thomas  Baker,  Nat.  M.  Bunker,  Zeb.  P. 
Burdick,  G.  H.  Calkins,  J.  G.  Callahan,  D.  M.  Coleman,  Geo.  H.  Crosby, 
W.  H.  Dakm,  Lem.  Ellsworth,  N.  C.  Farnsworth,  S.  S.  Fifield,  W.  J. 
Fisk,  T.  L.  Halbert,  John  Harsh,  M.  S.  Hodgson,  George  Hunter,  N.  L. 
James,  Wm.  J.  Kershaw,  John  Leigh,  Hiram  Merrill,  Thomas  O'Neill,  J: 
W.  Ostrander,  B.  Schlichting,  Charles  Scofield,  E.  M.  Sharp,  R.  D.  Smart, 
Rouse  Simmons,  J.  H.  Thomas,  Isaac  W.  Van  Schaick,  Geo.  H.  Guern 
sey  and  Fred.  W.  Horn  —  40. 

For  C.  C.  Washburn  —  Bleekman,  Campbell,  Quimby,  Scott,  Abrams, 
Adams,  Jackson,  Jeffrey,  Marshall,  Nelson,  Plocker,  Robinson  —  12. 

For  Horace  Rublee —  Holloway  and  Flint 

For  L.  S.  Dixon  —  Caskey  and  Harrison. 

For  W.  E.  Smith— ] ones. 

For  Lucius  Fairchild — Lloyd. 

For  W.  P.  Lyon  —  Beach. 

The  formal  ballot  then  resulted  in  forty-four  for  Carpen 
ter  (S.  A.  Harrison,  O.  R.  Jones,  Wm.  Plocker  and  J.  C. 


288  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

Holloway  having  joined  his  supporters),  and  on  motion  of 
Senator  Quimby  the  nomination  was  made  unanimous  with 
great  enthusiasm.  The  caucus  adjourned  after  the  chair 
man  had  appointed  a  committee  to  notify  Carpenter  of  his 
nomination.  "  As  the  news  of  the  result  became  known,  the 
crowds  about  the  capitol  were  wild  with  joy,  and  the  great 
est  enthusiasm  was  manifested  in  all  directions.  The  assem 
bly  chamber  was  packed  with  ladies  and  gentlemen,  awaiting 
the  result  and  expecting  a  speech  from  Carpenter.  After 
a  short  time  the  committee  appeared,  and  the  sight  of  the 
nominee  was  a  signal  for  the  liveliest  demonstration  of  ap 
plause.  It  was  several  moments  before  quiet  was  restored 
so  that  he  was  able  to  speak.  Senator  Barren  then  intro 
duced  him  as  the  'regular  republican  nominee  for  United 
States  senator.'  This  was  followed  by  unbounded  ap 
plause  "  l —  so  vociferous,  in  fact,  that  no  report  of  his  re 
marks  could  be  made.  He  said  that  six  years  before  he  had 
taken  this  same  stand  and  pledged  himself  to  do  his  duty  as 
United  States  senator.  He  expected  to  fall  into  mistakes, 
and  though  his  expectations  had  been  realized  in  this  respect, 
he  still  claimed  he  had  redeemed  the  pledge  to  the  best 
of  his  knowledge.  He  harbored  no  malice  for  the  abuse  he 
had  received  nor  felt  resentful  toward  the  bearers  of  false 
charges.  He  was  indeed  proud  of  the  re-nomination,  but 
less  proud  of  it  than  of  the  continued  success  of  his  party. 
Wisconsin  was  almost  the  only  state  that  emerged  from  the 
late  election  with  her  head  above  the  waves,  and  he  im 
plored  all  who  pretended  to  be  republicans  to  drop  petty  per 
sonal  prejudices  and  do  whatever  would  best  promote  party 
and  public  welfare. 

PRESSURE  FROM  HOME. 

The  following  day  was  Saturday.  A  majority  of  the 
members  scattered  over  the  state  to  their  homes,  and  to  min 
gle  with  their  constituents.  The  bolters  met  the  appeals  of 

1  Wisconsin  State  Journal,  January  23,  1875. 


PRESSURE    FROM    HOME.  289 

the  solid  republican  press  (with  one  or  two  unimportant  ex 
ceptions)  and  of  the  multitude  of  loyal  republicans,  to  do  as 
the  party  had  always  done  and  stand  by  the  caucus  nomina 
tion,  since  it  was  one  of  the  fairest  ever  made,  and  re-elect 
Carpenter.  But,  having  remained  away  from  the  caucus  in 
Washburn's  interest  and  with  his  sanction,  and  in  order  to 
be  able  to  say  with  technical  truth,  that,  not  having  partici 
pated  in  its  proceedings  they  were  not  bound  by  its  acts  and 
conclusions,  they  gave  greater  heed  to  the  blandishments  of 
the  democrats  —  who  immediately  organized  foraging  expe 
ditions  for  raiding  the  republican  camp  —  than  they  did  to 
the  strong  and  unanimous  appeals  of  their  own  press  and 
constituents. 

They  returned  to  Madison  on  Monday,  and  began  to 
mingle  and  counsel  freely  with  the  democracy.  Day  after 
day,  and  night  after  night,  as  the  subsequent  dead-lock  con 
tinued,  by  all  the  wanton  political  posings  their  genius  could 
suggest,  they  invited  the  democrats  to  seduce  them  or  join 
with  them  in  some  adulterous  liaison,  defiantly  violating  all 
political  and  party  laws,  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  destroy 
ing  the  lawful  offspring  of  their  own  household  by  begetting 
something  they  knew  to  be  wholly  illegitimate. 

But  this  was  not  all.  Disreputable  intrigue  and  disgrace 
ful  alliance,  with  their  numerous  ramifications,  did  not  cover 
the  sins  of  the  bolters.  They  or  their  abettors  resorted  to 
such  falsehoods  and  forgeries  as,  in  public  or  private  busi 
ness  transactions,  would  have  sent  the  offenders  to  the  peni 
tentiary. 

The  democrats  called  a  caucus  for  the  ostensible  purpose 
of  making  a  party  nomination,  to  meet  simultaneously  with 
the  republican  caucus,  already  described,  on  Friday,  Janu 
ary  22d.  Having  met  and  organized,  they  were  informed 
by  a  committee  of  republican  bolters  that  the  aid  of  the  de 
mocracy  was  desired  in  consummating  a  breach  of  political 
law  and  usage  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  Wisconsin,  and 
so  adjourned  until  the  following  Monday  evening.  At  that 
19 


2pO  LIFE   OF  CARPENTER. 

time,  the  caucus  re-assembled  with  closed  doors.  S.  U.  Pin- 
ney,  of  Dane,  said  he  had  been  assured  that  twenty-one  of 
the  bolters  would  stand  firm;  that  adjournment  had  been 
had  for  the  sake  of  "  effecting  an  alliance  with  the  dissatisfied 
republican  faction,"  and  that  no  action  should  be  taken  that 
could  not  at  once  be  rescinded,  if  necessary. 

John  A.  Barney,  of  West  Bend,  said  he  had  "the  success 
of  the  reform  party  at  heart,  but  he  had  been  assured  by  the 
bolters  that  the  defeat  of  the  *  Young  Lion  of  the  West ' x 
would  forever  disrupt  the  republican  party,  and  therefore  he 
would  be  willing  to  meet  them  half-way  in  their  laudable 
work  of  destroying  their  own  party."  He  also  said  the 
bolters  claimed  that,  while  "one  of  their  number  would  never 
vote  for  a  democrat,  and  one  was  slightly  shaky,  twenty  of 
them  would  vote  for  almost  any  liberal  man  the  reformers 
might  agree  upon."  He  thought  E.  S.  Bragg,  of  Fond  du 
Lac  (who  had  been  a  general  in  the  Union  army,  and,  al 
though  then  a  <p#s/-democrat,  had  been  the  regular  republi 
can  candidate  for  congress  against  Charles  A.  Eldredge), 
would  suit  the  bolters.  Bragg  was  therefore  chosen  as  a 
complimentary  or  trial  candidate,  to  be  withdrawn  whenever 
those  who  had  organized  the  bolt  and  sent  word  to  the  de 
mocracy  that  they  desired  help  to  "  defeat  Carpenter  and 
destroy  the  republican  party,"  should  demand  it. 

THREATS  MATERIALIZED 

On  the  following  day,  January  26th,  as  required  by  law,  the 
two  houses  voted  for  United  States  senator.  In  the  senate 
Carpenter  received  thirteen  and  in  the  assembly  forty-six 
votes,  making  the  fifty-nine  who  participated  in  the  caucus. 
O.  R.  Jones  was  absent.  He  would  have  voted  for  Carpenter, 
giving  him  sixty  votes  —  two-thirds  of  the  entire  republican 
portion  of  the  legislature.  The  remaining  votes  were  scat- 

A  descriptive  sobriquet  given  to  Carpenter  by  Geo.  W.  Peck,  of  Peck's 
Sun,  Milwaukee,  and  which  was  his  popular  nickname  until  the  day  of  his 
death. 


MISCEGENATION.  2pl 

tered  between  C.  C.  Washburn,  E.  S.  Bragg,  Horace  Rublee, 
Orsamus  Cole,  J.  T.  Lewis  and  H.  S.  Orton. 

Thus  the  vote  stood,  with  but  slight  variation,  during  ten 
long,  stormy  days  —  days  full  of  suspense,  sorrow,  bitterness, 
supplication,  agony  and  hatred.  All  the  power  of  the  entire 
republican  party,  press  and  officials  of  the  great  state  of 
Wisconsin  during  this  time  was  turned  upon  the  few  bolters 
who  were  blockading  the  election  and  injuring  the  party  that 
had  given  them  office,  but  with  no  more  effect  than  had  the 
Arab  Sheikh's  appeal  to  the  sphynx  to  save  Egypt  from  the 
invasion  of  Napoleon.1 

MISCEGENATION. 

Finally  the  president  of  one  of  the  great  railway  corpora 
tions  of  the  northwest  appeared  on  the  scene.  It  was  well- 
known  that  for  other  than  political  reasons  he  was  anxious 

1  For  instance,  Senator  Nevins,  Washburn's  brother-in-law  and  a  leading 
bolter,  received  this  letter  from  Angus  Cameron,  who  was  not  a  candidate, 
but  subsequently  became  Carpenter's  successor: 

"  LA  CROSSE,  Wis.,  Jan.  24,  1875. 

44  To  SENATOR  S.  L.  NEVINS,  SENATE,  AND  ASSEMBLYMAN  JOHN  BRAD 
LEY,  ASSEMBLY,  MADISON,  Wis.: 

44  Without  any  desire  to  dictate,  and  without  presuming  to  direct  what 
should  be  done  in  reference  to  the  existing  complications  in  regard  to  the 
senatorial  contest  in  Wisconsin,  the  undersigned  take  the  liberty,  as  repub 
licans  -who  have  a  stronger  respect  for  the  republican  party  than  for  any  per 
sonal  considerations,  to  say,  that,  so  far  as  we  have  ascertained  the  general 
sentiments  of  republicans  here,  they  are  in  favor  of  maintaining,  in  all  its  in 
tegrity,  the  organization  of  the  republican  party,  through  primary  meetings 
or  caucuses  and  conventions,  and  acquiescing  in  their  decisions  as  to  the 
nomination  or  choice  of  candidates  for  election  to  offices  which  are  sub 
ject  to  political  or  party  action. 

14  On  this  basis  the  republican  party  has  hitherto  acted ;  and  now,  when 
the  result  of  a  republican  legislative  caucus  has  been  clearly  expressed,  we  are 
of  the  opinion  that  to  bait  the  nomination  -will  establish  a  dangerous  prece 
dent,  and  -virtually  break  up  or  seriously  impair  the  usefulness  or  efficiency  of  the 
republican  organization;  especially  when  'the  bolt*  is  identified  with  or 
countenanced  by  those  who  are  generally  regarded  as  devoted  friends  of  a 
prominent  fellow-citizen  [Washburn],  who,  through  this  party  organization, 
has  often  been  elected  to  positions  of  influence,  honor  and  trust,  which  he 
has  honored  with  distinguished  fidelity  to  public  interest. 

u  Respectfully  yours,  ANGUS  CAMERON,"  and  others. 


292 


LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 


to  effect  Carpenter's  defeat.  The  year  before,  in  his  speech 
at  Ripon  on  the  "  Power  of  Legislatures  to  Control  Corpora 
tions  of  their  Own  Creation,"  Carpenter  had  sustained  the 
constitutionality,  necessity  and  sound  public  policy  of  the 
principles  of  the  Potter  railroad  law,  which  was  especially 
obnoxious  to  the  railway  corporations  of  the  state.  Before 
that  he  had  taken  advanced  ground  against  the  aggressions 
of  corporate  monopolies  and  in  favor  of  legislative  control  of 
railways. 

This  railway  president  suggested  Angus  Cameron,  of  La 
Crosse,  as  a  compromise  candidate.  Mr.  Cameron  was  an 
attorney  for  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway 
Company.  He  would  therefore  be  satisfactory  to  the  railway 
interests.  With  this  statement  of  the  case  from  the  wealth 
iest  citizen,  most  powerful  railway  magnate  and  foremost  dem 
ocrat  of  the  state,  a  conference  of  bolters  and  democrats 
was  secretly  held  on  the  night  of  February  2d,  while  a  storm 
of  snow  and  wind  was  raging  without  in  terrific  fury,  blockad 
ing  railways  and  prostrating  telegraph  lines.  Cameron's 
name  was  then  presented.  It  was  satisfactory  to  a  majority 
of  the  bolters,  but  most  of  the  democrats  spleened  against 
him.  He  was  a  strong  republican.  The  railway  magnate's 
desire  and  indorsement,  however,  together  with  the  fact  that 
he  had  voted  in  a  previous  legislature  against  the  Graham 
liquor  law,  were  sufficient  to  solidify  the  fragments,  and  on 
the  following  day,  February  3d,  at  noon,  to  the  great  surprise 
of  everybody  not  in  the  secret,  Angus  Cameron  received 
sixty-eight  votes  —  one  more  than  a  majority  —  and  was  de 
clared  elected.  He  received  the  solid  democratic  vote,  and 
the  votes  of  sixteen  republican  bolters.1 

1  Senators,  John  Schuette,  of  Manitowoc;  L.  W.  Barden,  of  Portage;  R. 
C.  Field,  of  Osseo,  and  S.  L.  Kevins,  of  La  Crosse.  Assemblymen,  Ole 
Anderson,  of  Vernon;  Marcus  Barden,  of  Columbia;  John  Bradley,  of  JLa 
Crosse;  Terry  S.  Chase,  of  Winnebago;  Noah  D.  Comstock,  of  Trempea- 
leau;  Charles  Dunlap,  of  Wai  worth;  John  B.  Dwinnell,  of  Columbia; 
Frank  Leach,  of  Winnebago;:  Robert  Mitchell,  ot  Marquette;  James  E. 
Newell,  of  Vernon ;  Marvin  Osborne,  of  Rock ;  John  R.  Rowlands,  of 
Columbia,  and  David  E.  Welch,  of  Sauk. 


293 

It  must  be  mentioned  that  James  R.  Doolittle,  whom  CarT 
penter  had  previously  handled  without  gloves  for  "Johnson- 
izing,"  was  present  and  contributed  to  the  defeat.  Before 
the  coalition,  and  in  public  speeches  after  the  election,  he 
vouched  to  the  democrats  for  the  soundness  of  Cameron's 
democracy,  and  doubtless  procured  some  votes  that  would  not 
otherwise  have  followed  the  unholy  bargain.  He  had  his 
revenge,  but  Cameron  was  not  then,  never  had  been,  and  is 
not  now,  a  democrat.  He  is  one  of  the  most  unswerving  re 
publicans,  and  nothing  to  this  day  will  so  thoroughly  agitate 
and  disgust  Wisconsin  democrats  as  to  cry  Angus  Cameron 
in  their  ears.  Nor  has  he  been  the  tool  of  the  railways  in 
the  senate. 

At  about  the  same  time  Carpenter  was  defeated  by  an 
ugly  little  faction  of  bolters,  Zach.  Chandler,  in  Michigan, 
and  Alexander  Ramsey,  in  Minnesota,  were  overthrown  in 
a  similar  manner.  The  wickedness  of  these  three  mutinies 
is  established  by  the  judgment  of  history.  General  Ramsey 
soon  became  secretary  of  war,  Chandler  was  elevated  to  the 
senate  with  increased  confidence  and  power,  and  Carpenter, 
at  the  very  next  opportunity,  was  re-elected,  and  by  the 
votes,  too,  of  some  who  before  composed  the  bolters. 

Minority  factions  can,  it  is  true,  by  revolting  and  standing 
between  the  people  and  the  people's  choice,  sometimes  suc 
ceed  in  defeating  the  popular  will  and  making  themselves 
notorious;  but  their  work  is  yet  to  receive  the  unerring  judg 
ment  of  time  and  the  approval  of  the  masses.  It  is  always 
better  for  the  minority  to  yield  gracefully  to  the  majority; 
otherwise  strife  and  chaos  could  never  end. 

"EATING   CROW." 

Several  days  before  the  caucus  was  held,  the  assembly 
adopted  a  resolution  asking  Washburn  and  Carpenter  to 
publicly  discuss  certain  leading  issues  of  the  day.  Remem 
bering,  doubtless,  the  result  of  a  similar  proceeding  six  years 
before,  Washburn  promptly  declined,  and  Carpenter,  out  of 


294  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

courtesy  for  his  competitor,  did  the  same,  promising,  how 
ever,  to  address  the  public  upon  the  questions  mentioned, 
"  after  the  senatorial  caucus,  whatever  might  be  the  result." 
This  promise  he  cheerfully  fulfilled  amidst  the  sackcloth  and 
bitterness  of  defeat.  On  Wednesday  evening,  February  3d, 
he  was  introduced  by  Senator  H.  D.  Barren  to  as  many  as 
could  crowd  into  the  assembly  chamber.  He  began  by  say 
ing:  "  I  hail  you  as  friends.  The  conqueror  is  attended  by 
satraps  and  unwilling  subjects;  the  captive  is  attended  only 
by  voluntary  friends."  He  reviewed  the  fall  campaign,  the 
caucus,  the  dead-lock,  and,  coming  down  to  the  bolt,  said: 

Then  followed  what  is  very  unusual,  and  what  I  trust  will  not  occur 
again  in  our  state,  nor  in  any  state  that  has  a  republican  majority;  a  por 
tion  of  the  party  seceded  from  the  regular  organization  and  organized  a  coali 
tion  with  the  democratic  party.  The  substance  of  that  arrangement  was  to 
sell  me  out.  I  thought  it  was  a  mistake  on  the  part  of  our  friends,  upon  the 
principle  that,  when  you  have  a  good  thing,  you  ought  to  keep  it.  But, 
under  the  circumstances,  if  I  was  to  be  sold  out,  I  certainly  had  no  right 
to  object  to  the  price  demanded,  which  was  the  whole  democratic  j>  arty  of  the 
state. 

I  am  very  happy  to  say  this  evening  that  I  am  to  be  succeeded  in  the 
senate  by  no  man  of  doubtful  political  sentiments,  nor  by  any  one  who  will 
tall  into  democratic  practices.  Mr.  Cameron  is  known  as  a  true  and  tried 
republican.  I  have  seen  this  afternoon  what  I  am  informed  is  the  platform 
upon  which  he  consented  to  be  elected.  As  I  now  recollect  it,  there  is  not 
a  word  in  it  that  would  not  be  indorsed  by  every  republican  senator  in  the 
United  States.  This  coalition  was  negotiated  by  a  somewhat  famous  mas 
ter —  by  the  greatest  political  merchant  of  modern  times,  James  R.  Doo- 
little.  He  first  sold  the  republican  party  to  the  democrats ;  but  he  has  now- 
squared  the  account  by  selling  the  democrats  to  the  republicans.  The  con 
sideration  that  was  expected  to  be  realized  by  the  democrats  for  this  trans 
action  and  transfer  was  the  defeat  of  the  republican  party  in  next  fall's 
campaign.  Now,  we  have  but  one  thing  to  see  to,  and  that  is,  considering 
the  immoral  contract,  they  be  not  permitted  to  get  the  consideration. 

Having  presented  all  the  great  issues  of  the  next  presi 
dential  campaign,  and  advised  the  bolters  to  forget  all 
their  hatreds  and  present  an  unbroken  front  in  1876,  he 
dwelt  with  great  force  upon  the  growing  strength  of  cor 
porate  capital,  and  declared  the  legislature  must  not  abandon 


THE    SWEETS   OF   ADVERSITY. 

the  principle  of  controlling  corporations  of  its  own  creation, 
explained  the  destructive  reign  of  anarchy  and  blood  irv 
Louisiana  —  upholding  the  action  of  President  Grant — and 
pictured  the  duties  of  all  lovers  of  their  country,  closing  the 
address  with  this  stirring  appeal: 

Some  say  the  mission  of  the  republican  party  is  ended.  You  might  as 
well  say  that  the  mission  of  the  church  is  ended,  because  the  Bible 
is  printed. 

As  long  as  there  is  a  wrong  to  be  righted,  as  long  as  there  is  any  privi 
lege  of  citizenship  to  be  protected,  the  mission  of  the  republican  party  will 
exist. 

Let  me  implore  you  all,  as  republicans,  having  accomplished  the  purpose 
you  had  in  view  in  separating  into  two  bodies,  to  coma  back  into  camp, 
come  to  the  common  flag,  and  shoulder  to  shoulder  march  forward  to  the 
execution  of  our  common  purpose. 

THE  SWEETS  OF  ADVERSITY 

At  noon  on  February  4th,  the  day  following  his  defeat,  a 
telegram  was  received  in  Milwaukee  stating  that  Carpenter 
had  left  Madison  and  would  reach  home  at  four  o'clock.  It 
was  instantly  resolved  that  there  should  be  some  demonstra 
tion  of  welcome  on  the  part  of  his  fellow-citizens  which 
would  show  that  his  defeat  had  not  lessened  the  esteem  in 
which  he  was  held  by  neighbors  and  friends.  A  large  con 
course  of  citizens  gathered  at  the  depot.  It  was  then  learned 
that  the  train,  owing  to  the  storm  that  had  been  prevailing- 
for  some  days,  was  over  an  hour  late.  The  crowd,  includ 
ing  the  leading  residents  of  Milwaukee,  waited  patiently  in 
the  storm,  growing  rather  than  decreasing  in  size.  The 
long  platforms  were  literally  crowded. 

At  last  the  snow-laden  train  —  a  picturesque  sight,  like  a 
vast  snow-drift  on  wheels  —  drew  up.  "  Three  cheers  for 
Carpenter ! "  broke  from  every  throat,  and  such  a  shout  as 
might  be  expected  when  a  multitude  is  delivered  from  de 
struction,  went  up.  As  Carpenter  issued  forth  from  the  cav 
ern  of  snow,  another  cheer  was  given.  He  was  accompanied 
by  Edward  Sanderson,  Henry  C.  Payne  and  Angus  Smith, 


2p6  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

friends  and  admirers,  each  of  whom  was  greeted  with  cheers. 
The  crowd  surrounded  them  and  surged  toward  the  sleigh 
that  stood  in  waiting.  He  had  hardly  entered  it  before  the 
horses  were  detached  and  a  rope  nearly  one  thousand  feet 
in  length  was  fastened  to  the  vehicle.  Every  inch  of  it  was 
seized  by  those  anxious  to  do  homage  to  the  defeated  chief 
tain  and  rebuke  those  who  wickedly  consummated  his 
overthrow. 

The  struggling  crowds  that  were  unable  to  grasp  the  rope 
thronged  the  street  and  sidewalks,  shouting  enthusiastically. 
Thus  the  party  moved  toward  the  center  of  the  city,  pre 
ceded  by  Bach's  military  band.  As  the  cosmopolitan  pro 
cession  marched  along,  increasing  as  it  moved,  cheers  and 
shouts  rose  above  the  music  of  the  band.  Finally,  a  halt 
was  made  in  front  of  the  Newhall  House,  more  than  a  mile 
from  the  point  where  the  horses  were  detached,  and  then 
the  multitude  cheered  louder  than  ever.  Carpenter  rose  to 
acknowledge  the  ovation,  but  his  voice  was  lost  in  the  tem 
pest  as  though  he  were  a  chrld  attempting  to  drown  the 
tumult  of  Niagara.  At  last,  after  repeated  motions  to  be 
silent,  the  applause  subsided,  and  he  said: 

FELLOW-CITIZENS  OF  MILWAUKEE: — There  is  nothing  that  I  would 
not  gladly  do,  to-night,  to  let  you  know  how  I  appreciate  this  expression  of 
friendship.  You  know  I  have  been  defeated;  you  know  I  have  no  more 
favors  to  dispense  —  not  even  a  postoffice.  I  must  express  my  astonish 
ment,  therefore,  at  such  an  audience  on  such  an  occasion.  Gentlemen,  I 
can  not  make  a  speech,  to-night,  but,  in  consideration  of  this  demonstra 
tion,  I  will  speak  to  you  at  the  Academy  of  Music,  before  my  return  to 
Washington,  to  return  to  you  my  sincere  thanks  for  the  friendship  you  ex 
press  this  evening,  and  to  explain  to  you  how  this  little  job  was  done. 

At  the  close  of  his  remarks,  three  cheers  were  given  and 
repeated,  and  then  another  round  for  "  Matt.  H.  Carpenter, 
the  next  President  of  the  United  States." 

He  dismounted  and  entered  the  Newhall  House.  A  gen 
eral  struggle  to  reach  him  then  ensued,  and  for  some  time 
he  stood  hemmed  in,  shaking  hands  with  the  multitude. 
His  face  was  flushed  with  pleasure,  his  eyes  sparkled  with 


THE    SWEETS   OF   ADVERSITY.  297 

animation,  and  his  replies  to  the  numerous  greetings  were 
cordial  and  rollicking.  The  concourse  seemed  to  so  thor 
oughly  enjoy  the  occasion  that  it  was  discovered  that  some 
steps  must  be  taken  to  bring  the  extraordinary  demonstra 
tion  to  a  close.  Therefore,  the  senatorial  party  with  extreme 
difficulty  elbowed  through  the  crowd  and  descended  the 
stairs.  On  reaching  the  door,  the  cry  arose,  as  with  one 
voice,  "  Take  the  rope,  take  the  rope ! "  Carpenter  then 
saw  that  escape  was  impossible,  that  he  was  literally  "in  the 
hands  of  his  friends,"  and  that  the  surging  assemblage  would 
listen  to  no  terms  of  capitulation.  His  voice  rang  out  in 
hearty  laughter  as  he  was  lifted  like  a  child  into  the  vehicle, 
which,  preceded  by  the  band  as  before,  was  drawn  by  the 
people  to  the  residence  of  Edward  Sanderson,  a  half-mile 
distant.  Along  the  route  the  sidewalks  were  alive  with 
people,  and  from  the  windows  and  doorways  of  almost  every 
house,  ladies  waved  their  handkerchiefs  and  men  cheered  for 
"  Matt.  Carpenter."  When  the  party  arrived  at  Mr.  Sander 
son's  residence,  the  crowd  refused  to  leave  until  Carpenter 
came  out  and  made  another  speech.  After  repeated  cheers, 
he  appeared  on  the  steps,  and  said: 

Now,  gentlemen,  let  me  return  my  sincere  thanks  for  this  demonstra 
tion  of  your  kindness,  and  on  Tuesday  night  next  I  will  speak  to  you  at 
the  Academy  of  Music.  Good  night,  gentlemen. 

Three  cheers  were  again  given  "  for  the  next  President," 
and  the  crowd  slowly  dispersed. 

No  Wisconsin  man  in  victory,  and  no  other  man  in  the 
Union  in  defeat,  ever  returned  home  to  a  more  spontaneous, 
extended  and  heart-felt  ovation  than  this.  No  participant 
will  ever  forget  it,  and  it  probably  would  have  been  an  easy 
matter  to  find  two  thousand  people  claiming  they  grasped 
the  rope  that  drew  Matt.  Carpenter's  sleigh  through  the 
snow-drifts  on  that  cold,  stormy  February  evening. 


2p8  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 


A  CONFIDENTIAL  TALK. 

According  to  promise,  Carpenter  addressed  a  public  meet 
ing  in  the  Academy  of  Music,  on  Tuesday  evening,  Febru 
ary  9,  1875.  "ft  was  announced  that  the  hall  would  be  open 
at  seven  o'clock.  By  six  o'clock  the  crowd  had  commenced 
gathering,  and  at  half-past  six  the  space  in  front  of  the  build 
ing  was  covered  by  a  throng  of  people;  and,  finally,  when 
the  doors  were  opened,  they  went  in  with  a  rush  that  was 
actually  perilous  to  human  life;  and  still,  in  all  parts  of  the 
city  processions  might  have  been  seen  moving  towards  the 
Academy.  Within  five  minutes  after  the  doors  were  opened 
every  seat  was  taken,  and  in  an  incredibly  short  time  every 
foot  of  standing-room  in  the  gallery,  in  the  aisles  and  in  the 
lobby  was  occupied.  The  stage  was  filled  early  in  the 
evening,  and  it  Uecame  necessary  to  lock  the  stage  entrance 
to  save  room  enough  for  the  speaker.  Hundreds  came, 
looked  and  went;  and  as  they  went,  met  hundreds  still  com 
ing,  confidently  expecting  that  they  might  fare  better."  1 

He  was  introduced  to  the  multitude  by  Governor  Harrison 
Ludington.  Portions  of  his  speech  may  be  quoted  to  show 
how  he  talked  with  his  friends  confidentially: 

MY  FRIENDS:  —  We  have  met,  not  to  sorrow  and  mourn,  not  to  mingle 
our  tears  over  defeat,  nor  yet  to  console  disappointed  candidates.  In  the 
presence  of  an  enemy  an  army  can  not  stop  to  mourn  or  even  bury  the 
slain.  In  the  great  movement  of  the  people  toward  the  accomplishment  of 
our  mission  as  a  nation,  accidents  are  to  be  expected,  here  and  there  a  tem 
porary  check  will  be  received,  here  and  there  a  victim  must  fall.  But  let 
the  dead  past  bury  its  dead.  We  live  in  the  present;  we  live  for  the  future. 
What  is  done,  is  done;  let  by-gones  be  by-gones  —  move  on  the  column. 

I  have  come  here  this  evening  for  two  purposes,  mainly : 

1.  To  return  my  thanks  to  the  people  of  Milwaukee;  and 

2.  To  beseech  my  personal  friends  here  and  elsewhere  in  the  state  to 
"smooth  their  -wrinkled front"  get  into  temper,  and  get  into  line,  to  win  the 
next  political  campaign. 

I  came. to  reside  in  Milwaukee  in  1858.  I  had  resided  in  the  state  ten 
years  before  that,  but  was  almost  a  stranger  here.  I  was  welcomed  and 

1  Milwaukee  Sentinel,  February  10,  1875. 


A   CONFIDENTIAL   TALK.  299 

kindly  treated  by  the  bar,  and  by  many  of  our  most  excellent  and  distin 
guished  citizens.  In  all  the  vicissitudes  of  life  which  have  since  come  to 
me,  as  they  come  to  all,  I  have  found  the  tenderest  and  most  cordial  sym 
pathy.  At  the  graves  of  two  of  my  children  I  have  been  surrounded  by- 
warm  hearts  and  moist  eyes.  While  the  slanders  and  detractions  were 
b  ing  heaped  upon  me  by  political  enemies  because  I  was  a  steadfast  and  ar 
dent  supporter  of  the  present  republican  administration,  the  people  of  Mil 
waukee  defended  me,  stood  beside  me,  offered  their  sympathy  in  "kindly 
words,"  and,  last  fall,  when  I  was  a  candidate  for  re-election,  they  elected 
six  sound  republicans,  in  six  assembly  districts,  every  one  of  which  elected 
a  democratic  member  the  year  before ;  and  when  I  returned  to  the  city  the 
other  night,  in  defeat,  all  my  personal  ambition  covered  with  sack-cloth 
and  ashes,  a  large  crowd  of  our  best  people  met  me  at  the  depot,  in  most  in 
clement  weather,  and  braving  the  fury  of  a  wintry  storm,  received  me 
with  a  warmth  of  friendship  that  might  gladden  the  heart  of  a  king.  This 
is  the  verdict  of  the  people  among  whom  I  have  resided  for  sixteen  years. 
I  know  no  word*  that  can  convey  the  depth  of  my  gratitude ;  but,  my 
friends,  you  must  not  think  I  do  not  feel  it  because  I  can  not  express  it. 
And  to  my  friends  all  over  the  state,  what  can  I  say  ?  To  the  people  of 
Rock  county,  who  as  one  man  almost,  rallied  to  my  support,  what  can  I 
say?  Nothing  but  thanks,  thanks,  THANKS! 

Now,  my  friends,  let  us  look  to  the  future.  And  because  the  only  safe 
lamp  to  light  our  path  is  that  of  experience,  let  me  inquire  what  it  was,  that, 
despite  the  earnest  support  of  such  friends,  accomplished  my  defeat.  It  is 
not  to  complain  of  the  past  but  to  point  out  the  shoals  upon  which  future 
political  mariners  may  be  wrecked,  that  I  refer  to  this  matter.  My  defeat 
is  attributable  to  two  causes,  (i)  We  have  a  Washburn  among  us;  and  (2) 
I  had  offended  capital  in  defending  the  rights  of  the  people. 

Washburn  entered  the  field  in  violation  of  his  voluntary  written  promise 
not  to  do  so;  got  fairly  beaten  by  a  viva  vocc  vote  in  the  caucus,  by  which  he 
promised  me,  on  the  Wednesday  before  the  caucus,  he  would  abide  —  then 
helped  to  organize  a  bolt;  his  brother-in-law,  Senator  Nevins,  of  La  Crosse, 
leading  it,  his  newspaper,  the  La  Crosse  Republican  and  Leader,  defending 
it,  and  his  nephew,  the  son  of  Elihu  B.  Washburn,  advocating  it.  Politi 
cians  are  rather  indifferent  as  to  the  means  by  which  a  man  achieves  polit 
ical  success.  But  whoever  makes  such  an  attempt  in  violation  of  solemn 
promise,  gets  fairly  beaten  on  ground  of  his  own  choosing,  and  then  bolts, 
will  not  be  very  favorably  regarded.  But  Washburn  alone  could  not  have 
accomplished  my  defeat.  His  effort  was  seconded  by  the  Chicago,  Mil 
waukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway  Company.  It  is  a  little  discouraging  to  reflect 
that,  by  standing  by  the  rights  of  the  farmers,  I  not  only  incurred  ihe  enmity 
of  the  monopolists,  but  the  farmers  themselves  and  their  representatives  be 
came  the  instruments  which  the  monopolists  wielded  for  my  defeat.  Gran 
gers  enough  voted  against  me  to  have  elected  me  had  they  voted  the  other 


3OO  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

way.  The  monopolists  stand  by  their  friends ;  the  people,  too  often,  do  not. 
And  he  who  stands  up  for  the  rights  of  the  people  must  make  up  his  mind 
to  the  chance  of  being  slaughtered  by  the  people  whom  he  has  saved,  while 
those  who  take  grounds  against  the  people  and  in  favor  of  monopolies  may 
expect  to  enjoy  fat  fees,  and  very  likely  even  the  support  of  the  people 
whose  rights  they  have  ignored  or  betrayed.  But  they  who  prefer  principle 
to  place  will  take  and  abide  their  chance;  and  if  they  go  down,  their  places 
will  be  filled  by  others,  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  becoming  the  seed  of  the  church. 
********** 

My  friends,  in  conclusion,  let  me  appeal  to  you  specially  —  you  who  have 
stood  beside  me  beneath  a  storm  of  unparalleled  detraction  and  abuse,  you 
who  labor  always  for  the  success  of  the  republican  cause,  you  who  repre 
sent  the  life-blood,  the  living  principles,  the  muscle,  the  hope  and  the  en 
ergy  of  republicanism —  to  forget  the  personal  disappointments  involved 
in  our  late  defeat,  and  to  rally  once  more,  and  always  and  everywhere,  to 
crush  the  heresies  to  which  the  democratic  party  is  committed;  to  carry 
your  flag  into  the  storm  of  every  battle  until  the  people  can  be  rallied  to  the 
protection  of  their  dearest  rights,  and  such  traitors  to  the  people  and  to 
liberty  as  James  R.  Doolittle  may  be  laid  in  political  graves  to  know  no 
resurrection.  Don't  scold  and  wrangle  and  scowl;  don't  lose  confidence 
in  the  people,  whose  sober  second  thought  is  always  right;  don't  forget 
that  amid  all  the  reverses  and  mutations  of  human  affairs  God  calmly  sits 
on  his  throne;  that  truth  will  ultimately  prevail  over  falsehood  and  the  right 
vanquish  the  wrong.  Stand  by  the  flag,  wrap  the  mantle  of  human  rights 
a  little  closer  about  you,  close  up  the  ranks,  cheer  your  comrades,  and 
whoever  your  leader  may  be,  "keep  step  to  the  music  of  the  Union,"  which 
is  our  asylum  and  citadel  and  the  citadel  and  asylum  of  human  rights. 

That  portion  of  the  speech  devoted  to  James  R.  Doolittle, 
"  the  falsehoods  and  false  promises  of  C.  C.  Washburn,"  and 
the  "  chicanery  and  political  depravity  of  the  hucksters,"  is 
not  quoted.  It  was,  however,  juicy  and  entertaining  to  an 
incomparable  degree;  but  it  makes  a  worse  record  for  those 
under  fire  than  is  thought  advisable  to  perpetuate  in  this 
volume. 

THE  FRUIT  OF  DISASTER. 

The  defeat  of  Carpenter,  unjust  as  it  was,  and  contrary  to 
the  sentiment  of  the  people  of  his  state,  was  not  an  incident 
that  subtracts  from  the  lustre  of  his  subsequent  career.  By 
it  the  flood  of  universal  sympathy  was  turned  toward  him; 
through  it  he  obtained  friends,  strength  and  support  that 


THE   FRUIT   OF   DISASTER.  3OI 

otherwise  never  would  have  been  his.  As  the  victim  of 
atrocity  always  has  the  heart  of  the  people,  so  the  wicked 
ness  of  the  means  used  to  compass  his  political  dethrone 
ment  raised  Carpenter  to  the  crest  of  popular  favor  and 
carried  him  higher  up  the  eminence  of  undying  fame  and 
deeper  into  the  love  and  esteem  of  his  countrymen. 

Defeat  did  not  send  him  to  oblivion,  as  it  does  many  an 
other,  but  added  substantially  to  his  strength  and  renown. 
Had  Napoleon  died  in  1805,  in  the  height  of  his  reign,  all 
his  conquests  and  stupendous  maneuvres  would  have  lacked 
that  immutable  splendor,  and  his  whole  career  that  mys 
terious  grandeur  which  were  added  by  his  betrayal  at  Water 
loo,  his  unlawful  arrest  by  a  country  of  which  he  was  not  a 
citizen,  and  his  lonely  death  upon  the  desolate  rock  of  St. 
Helena. 


3O2  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

STILL  ON  THE  HUSTINGS. 

Being  engaged  in  Washington  and  New  York,  Carpenter 
took  no  part  in  the  campaign  of  1875,  until  the  last  week, 
when  he  made  several  speeches  for  Harrison  Ludington, 
the  republican  candidate  for  governor.  During  the  presi 
dential  campaign  of  1876  he  delivered  numerous  addresses 
for  R.  B.  Hayes  in  Wisconsin  and  other  states. 

He  seemed  this  year  t  to  have  renewed  his  mental  and 
physical  vigor.  He  flitted  from  the  circuit  courts  to  the 
stump,  and  from  the  stump  to  the  United  States  supreme 
court,  in  a  manner  that  was  truly  marvelous.  For  instance, 
receiving  sudden  notice  from  the  clerk  of  the  supreme  court 
that  his  presence  was  required  in  Washington,  he  started  for 
that  city  with  just  time  enough  to  reach  it  on  the  day  of 
argument.  He  studied  the  cause  as  he  rode,  arrived  in 
Washington,  attended  to  the  case  and  started  to  return  on 
the  same  day.  On  reaching  Chicago  he  telegraphed  to 
Neenah  that  he  would  speak  there  on  October  26th.  The 
telegram  reached  its  destination  in  the  morning  and  Carpen 
ter  arrived  at  night.  Notwithstanding  the  shortness  of  the 
notice,  over  two  thousand  five  hundred  people  were  present, 
and  the  meeting  was  a  marked  success.  On  the  day  follow 
ing  he  spoke  at  Appleton.  There  was  made  the  first  synopsis 
of  the  speeches  of  that  campaign.  At  the  opening,  he  as 
serted  that  he  "  should  not  deal  in  vituperation,  for,  if  Tilden 
had  been  nominated  at  the  Cincinnati  convention,  he  would 
vote  for  him,  and  if  Hayes  had  received  the  democratic  nom 
ination,  he  would  not  cast  his  ballot  for  him ;  for  it  is  not  the 
man  we  are  called  upon  to  support,  but  the  principles  of  the 
respective  parties." 

He  defended  Grant  and  the  republican  administration, 
referred  to  the  achievements  of  both,  and  examined  the  pre- 


FIRING   AT   THE    FLOCK.  303 

tenses  of  the  so-called  independent  party  that  was  then  out 
on  dress-parade.  He  asked:  "If  the  republican  party  is 
right  and  the  democratic  party  wrong,  where  must  be  the 
independent  party?  It  is  between  right  and  wrong."  At 
Fond  du  Lac  he  declared,  on  introducing  ex-Governor  Ed 
ward  Salomon  to  the  audience,  that  he  was  "  such  a  firm 
believer  in  special  providence  that  he  was  satisfied,  if  the 
republicans  were  willing  to  have  the  government  turned  over 
to  the  democrats,  God  would  not." 

At  Oshkosh,  Robert  G.  Ingersoll  spoke  in  the  afternoon, 
and  Carpenter  in  the  evening.  IngersolTs  terrible  indictment 
had  aroused  the  democrats  to  almost  a  fighting  frenzy,  and 
they  poured  out  to  hear  Carpenter.  A  tremendous  throng 
assembled,  extending  for  blocks  back  from  the  hall.  Several 
"  overflow  "  meetings  were  held  in  different  parts  of  the  city. 
When  he  arrived  he  could  hardly  crowd  through  to  the 
stage,  which  was  full  of  distinguished  people.  The  excite 
ment  was  intense,  but  hardly  equal  to  the  oppressiveness  of 
the  heat.  He  threw  off  his  coat,  vest  and  collar,  and  pro 
ceeded  for  two  and  one-half  hours,  amidst  deafening  cheers, 
with  what  Ingersoll  pronounced  "  the  best  campaign  oration 
he  had  ever  heard."  Carpenter  closed  the  campaign  on 
November  6th,  suffering  on  that  night  an  injury  which  was 
occasionally  the  cause  of  severe  pain,  and  from  which,  as  we 
shall  discover,  he  never  was  fully  recruited. 

FIRING  AT  THE  FLOCK. 

When  the  Wisconsin  state  convention  was  held  for  the 
purpose  of  choosing  delegates  to  the  national  republican  con 
vention  of  1876,  a  proposition  was  made  to  elect  Carpenter 
delegate-at-large.  In  fact,  he  himself  had  some  desire  to  be 
chosen,  his  plan  being  to  make  a  speech  nominating  Roscoe 
Conkling  for  the  presidency.  But  as  the  state  was  generally 
for  James  G.  Elaine,  and  as  the  friends  of  Washburn  pro 
posed  to  make  an  inharmonious  demonstration  unless  he 
should  be  made  a  delegate  with  Carpenter,  the  party  man- 


304  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

agers  deemed  it  advisable  to  discard  both  Carpenter  and 
Washburn,  and  thus  prevent  any  possible  rupture  or  ill-feel 
ing. 

Thereupon,  the  Milwaukee  Sentinel  began  an  angry  at 
tack  on  the  managers  of  the  convention,  principally  E.  W. 
Keyes.  As  Carpenter  was  supposed  to  own  or  control  a 
portion  of  the  Sentinel  stock,  Keyes  wrote  requesting  his 
influence  toward  quieting  the  unjust  dragonnade  of  that 
journal,  at  the  same  time  giving  the  reasons  which  led  the 
convention  to  discard  both  Carpenter  and  Washburn.  The 
letter  brought  forth  this  peppery  answer- 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  March  3,  1876. 

DEAR  KEYES  : —  I  have  received  your  long  letter  in  relation  to  the  late 
state  convention.  The  same  mail  brought  me  Chicago  papers  containing 
what  they  call  an  "  inside  "  view  of  the  convention. 

You  think  I  know  nothing  about  politics.  Thank  God  for  that.  But  it 
frequently  happens  that  a  man  may  correctly  criticise  a  work  of"  art  which 
he  could  neither  originate  nor  execute. 

I  never  exchanged  a  word  with  Botkin^oral  or  written,  about  the  conven 
tion  ;  nor  did  I  with  Murphey,  except  that  I  wrote  him  that  I  would  like  to 
be  a  delegate,  if  there  was  no  objection.  Mr.  Botkin  no  more  represented 
me  in  the  convention  than  did  any  other  man  in  it;  and  I  am  no  more 
responsible  for  what  he  did,  or  did  not  do,  than  you  are. 

But  I  must  confess  that  the  logic  which  controlled  your  course  towards 
me  I  do  not  comprehend. 

Your  syllogism  stands  thus: 

(1)  A  man  who  bolts  a  regular  party  nomination  ought  not  to  represent 
the  party  in  a  convention. 

(2)  Washburn  led  and  managed  a  bolt  last  winter  against  a  regular  and 
perfectly  fair  caucus  nomination. 

Therefore,  both  Washburn  who  bolted,  and  Carpenter  who  was  defeated 
by  this  bolt,  are  in  the  same  situation : —  neither  of  them  can  represent  the 
party  in  a  convention. 

No  work  of  established  authority  upon  the  subject  of  logic,  that  I  have 
read,  enables  me  to  understand  how  this  conclusion,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned, 
results  from  the  premises. 

You  knew  that  Washburn  bolted.  This,  in  any  party  which  recognizes 
either  discipline  or  justice,  should  exclude  him,  until  at  least  after  the  expira 
tion  of  a  reasonable  period  of  probation.  But  your  theory  recognizes  no 
distinction  between  the  murderer  and  the  murdered. 

IThe  editor  of  the  Milwaukee  Sentinel. 


FIRING   AT   THE   FLOCK.  305 

You  know  that  after  I  was  defeated  by  Washburn's  bolt,  I  did  every 
thing  in  my  powt-r  to  heal  the  breach  and  reconcile  my  friends  to  the  result, 
so  as  to  save  a  split  in  the  party.  But  according  to  your  logic,  I  am  in  just 
as  bad  a  condition  with  the  party  as  he  is,  and  "  harmony  "  requires  that  I 
should  be  thrown  overboard  ivith  him. 

But  again,  you  are  aware  that  the  bolt  of  last  winter  was  as  much  against 
you  as  me.  Some  of  the  bolters  said,  in  justification  of  their  course,  that 
my  election  would  perpetuate  your  power  in  the  party. 

When  the  state  convention  of  1875  was  held,  the  bolters,  led  by  Howe 
and  Sawyer,  attempted  to  throw  you  overboard ;  and  you  were  saved  by  my 
friends.  In  the  late  convention,  with  full  knowledge  that  every  Wash- 
burn  man  hated  you  as  bad  as  he  did  me;  and  that  my  friends  had  saved 
you  from  their  vengeance  last  year,  you  did  not  think  that  the  interests  of 
the  party  required  you  to  decline. 

Again,  while  it  was  necessary,  to  secure  "  harmony,"  that  I  should  be 
thrown  overboard,  it  was  very  harmonious  to  elect  as  a  delegate,  I.  M. 
Bean,  a  bolter. 

You  say,  speaking  of  the  convention:  "  I  succeeded,  after  great  effort,  in 
getting  the  thing  into  line  and  getting  out  of  it  satisfactory  results."  That 
is,  you  had  your  own  way ;  and  consequently  you  are  responsible  for  what 
was  done.  You  have  delivered  the  party  over  to  Sawyer,  enabling  him  to 
pretend  to  Blaine,  that  he,  Sawyer,  procured  a  united  delegation  in  favor  of 
Blaine.  Consequently,  should  Blaine  be  nominated  and  elected  —  neither  of 
which  is  quite  certain  —  Mr.  Sawyer  will  be  Blaine's  lieutenant  for  Wis 
consin. 

Howe  and  Sawyer  will  act  together  in  everything  relating  to  our  state ; 
and  if  you  don't  know  that  neither  of  them  is  friendly  to  you,  you  will  find 
it  out  in  time.  Party  harmony  led  you  to  slaughter  me;  and  the  next  thing 
that  party  harmony  will  demand  will  be  your  head,  and  I  do  not  see  very 
clearly  how  you  can  object  to  an  application  to  yourself  of  the  logic  you 
have  applied  to  me. 

Sawyer  likes  you  just  as  he  does  me;  that  is,  there  would  be  less  rum 
bling  in  his  bowels  if  you  and  I  were  both  in  hades. 

It  seems  to  me  that  you  have  broken  with  your  old  and  natural  friends, 
and  allied  yourself  with  men  who  will  seek  the  earliest  opportunity  to  put 
you  out  of  the  way.  * 

My  experience  with  Washburn  ought  to  have  saved  you  from  the  folly  I 
committed.  Whatever  may  be  said  about  the  affinities  in  love,  it  is  certain 
that  in  politics  no  combination  of  individuals  of  dissimilar  tastes,  views 
and  sentiments  can  prosper.  A  ship  constructed  of  discordant  materials 
will  go  to  pieces  in  the  first  s'.orm.  You  have,  as  I  understand  the  situa 
tion,  united  your  destinies  with  Sawyer,  who  is  only  Howe's  second  self; 
and  if  you  expect  that  they  will  stand  by  you  after  a  convenient  opportunity 
to  throw  you  overboard,  I  predict  you  will  be  disappointed.  I  hope 
20 


306  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

I  am  mistaken  and  that  your  trust  is  well  bestowed,  but  we  shall  see.  You 
have  allowed  them  to  play  Napoleon's  tactics,  which  were  to  divide  his 
enemies  and  fall  upon  them  in  detail  with  an  overwhelming  force.  You 
have  helped  them  to  slaughter  me,  and  now  they  will  not  need  mv  help  to 
slaughter  you.  In  the  next  state  convention  they  will  apply  the  principle 
of  "harmonics"  to  you. 

But  there  is  one  view  of  this  subject  far  more  important  than  any  mere 
personal  consideration.  It  a  handful  of  sore-heads  can  bolt  a  party  nomi 
nation  and  defeat  the  will  of  the  majority  of  the  party,  and  then  insist  that 
harmony  in  the  party  can  only  be  secured  by  slaughtering  the  men  who 
stood  by  the  organization,  and  giving  offices  of  profit  and  positions  of  trust 
and  confidence  to  them,  it  does  not  require  a  prophet  to  predict  the  fate  of 
such  a  party. 

There  is  but  one  principle  upon  which  any  organization,  from  a  political 
party  down  to  a  sewing  society,  can  be  preserved,  and  that  is  that  the  ma 
jority  shall  rule.  Indeed,  this  is  the  fundamental  principle  of  free  institu 
tions,  and  our  national  and  state  governments  rest  upon  no  other  foundation. 
The  democratic  party  has  always  understood  this  to  be  the  essential  ele 
ment  of  success.  Its  line  of  march  can  be  traced  by  the  tombstones  of 
bolters.  In  that  party,  to  bolt  is  to  be  buried.  The  consequence  is,  that  at 
this  time,  when  the  success  of  the  republican  party  is  indispensable  to  the 
welfare  of  the  country,  the  democratic  party,  with  a  damning  record  of  the 
past,  and  most  mischievous  purposes  for  the  future,  is  pressing  us  sore  in 
every  state  of  the  Union. 

You  seem  to  me  to  have  entirely  overlooked  this  view  of  the  case,  and 
to  have  given  the  weight  of  your  influence  against  party  discipline.  It  is 
fashionable  now-a-days  to  decry  party  discipline.  But  considering  that  we 
are  opposed  by  a  party  which  does  enforce  discipline  with  the  utmost  rigor, 
it  is  mere  folly  for  us  to  say  that  we  will  make  no  distinction  between 
steady  adherents  and  those  who  support  the  ticket  only  when  they  are  can 
didates.  If  our  friends  will  not  consent  to  act  in  party  organization  as  a 
unit,  then  the  fate  of  the  party  is  as  clearly  to  be  seen  as  the  fate  of  disor 
ganized  numbers  opposed  by  regular  troops. 

The  result  in  this  instance  has  been  that  those  who  stood  by  the  party 
organization,  adhered  to  its  usages  and  followed  its  flag  in  the  storm,  stand 
aside,  that  bolters  may  baadvanced.  This  is  as  wise  as  it  would  be  to  give 
the  command  of  an  army  to  those  who  had  deserted  from  its  ranks  in  bat 
tle,  or  the  command  of  our  navy  to  mutineers.  The  Master  laid  upon  his 
apostles  two  injunctions:  to  be  as  harmless  as  doves,  but  wise  as  serpents. 
Our  party  submits  to  the  first  and  rejects  the  last;  and  while  we  are  play 
ing  the  dove,  the  serpent  is  moving  on  the  White  House. 

If  you  had  taken  the  ground  that  it  was  best  for  the  interests  of  the  party 
that  all  who  were  prominent  in  last  winter's  contest  should  stand  aside,  and 
illustrated  it  by  standing  aside  yourself  and  defeating  Bean  —  already  suffi- 


MORE  JUICY   LETTERS.  307 

ciently  rewarded  for  his  bolt  by  receiving  the  best  office  in  the  state » — 
jour  course,  whether  wise  or  not,  would  have  been  consistent. 

Truly  yours,  MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 

MORE  JUICY  LETTERS. 

C.  C.  Washburn's  paper,  the  La  Crosse  Republican  and 
Leader,  continued  its  severe  course  of  criticism  of  Carpenter 
long  after  he  had  become  a  private  citizen.  To  one  of  these 
strictures  he  thus  openly  replied: 

WASHINGTON,  March  23,  1877. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  La  Crosse  Republican  and  Leader: 

A  friend  has  sent  me  your  paper  of  the  I7th  inst.,  containing  your  admi 
rable  article,  entitled  "Carpenter's  New  Trouble." 

Your  friendship  for  me  is  so  well-known,  your  grief  for  my  "troubles"  so 
deep  and  sincere,  and  your  editorial  mention  of  me  always  so  candid  and 
just — not  to  say  generous  and  flattering,  —  that  I  am  sure  some  enemy  of 
mine  must  have  imposed  upon  you,  and  induced  you  to  say  some  things  in 
this  article  more  painful  for  you  to  write  than  for  me  to  read. 

One  thing  is  not  up  to  your  usual  style  of  compliment;  you  say:  "Mr. 
Carpenter  is  nothing,  everything  and  anything  for  pay  or  policy."  In  con. 
nection  with  this,  you  might  have  added,  u  Since  the  firing  upon  Fort  Sum- 
ter  he  has  always  voted  the  straight  republican  ticket,  never  *  bolted'  a 
candidate,  and  has  been  on  the  stump  for  the  republican  party  in  every 
campaign  except  one,  and  that  was  the  year  when  General  C.  C.  Washburn 
scorned  all  assistance,  put  the  party  in  his  pocket  and  disappeared  with  it." 
Again  you  say : 

"We  have  always  thought  better  of  Mr.  Carpenter's  talents  than  his 
character,  but  of  late  he  has  exh  bited  a  degree  of  inaptitude  for  placing 
himself  in  harmonious  accord  with  the  winning  side,  that  leads  us  to  won 
der  if  his  intellect  is  not  beginning  to  sympathize  with  his  other  weaknesses." 

This  is  more  characteristic  of  you  than  anything  else  in  the  article.  You 
think  a  man  must  be  crazy  who  stands  by  what  he  believes  to  be  the  right, 
when  to  do  so  is  unprofitable  or  unpopular.  "  Inaptitude  "  for  placing  one's 
self  in  accord  with  the  •winning'  side,  you  regard  as  a  fatal  delect  of  charac 
ter,  or  evidence  of  waning  intellect.  You  conclude  your  confession  of  my 
sins  as  follows: 

"Just  now  the  republicans  of  Wisconsin  have  no  official  harness  for 
Mr.  Carpenter  to  train  in." 

"Just  now."  Just  so.  You  have  no  further  use  for  me  until  you  have 
another  ticket  in  the  field  and  want  me  to  go  on  the  stump  and  advocate 
its  election. 

1  Collector  of  internal  revenue  at  Milwaukee. 


308  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

Very  well.  Then  what  is  the  objection  to  my  practicing  law,  "just  now?  " 
When  you  have  no  use  for  me,  no  "harness  for  me  to  train  in,11  why  may  I 
not  attend  to  my  own  business? 

Again,  if  I  should  go  to  La  Crosse  and  pitch  into  you  about  the  manner 
in  which  you  conduct  your  private  business,  you  might  ask  me  two  puz 
zling  questions: 

(1)  When  did  I  obtain  an  appointment  as  your  guardian,  entitling  me  to 
control  you  in  the  management  of  your  own  affairs;  and 

(2)  Conceding  my  right,  whether  I  was  sure  that  I  knew  how  a  business 
ought  to  be  conducted,  which  I  had  never  been  engaged  in,  better  than  you 
who  had  devoted  to  it  a  life- time? 

While  I  was  in  the  senate  it  was  not  only  your  right  but  your  duty  as  an 
impartial  journalist  to  abuse  me  for  everything  I  did,  and  everything  I  did 
not  do.  And  you  exercised  that  right  and  performed  that  duty  with  strik 
ing  constancy.  But  "just  now"  I  am  a  private  citizen,  trying  to  pay  my 
taxes  and  support  my  family  by  practicing  a  profession,  the  duties  of  which 
I  have  spent  a  life-time  in  studying. 

Every  art  has  its  rules,  and  every  profession  its  ethics.  It  is  well  settled 
that  an  advocate  should  not  devote  his  services  exclusively  to  himself,  his 
family,  his  relatives,  his  neighbors,  his  party  or  his  church;  but  that  he 
should  serve  all  men  in  the  interest  of  truth  and  justice.  No  lawyer  can  be 
disgraced  by  a  bad  cause ;  but  only  by  his  management  of  it.  The  cause 
is  his  clienfs;  the  management  his  oivn.  The  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  every  state  of  this  Union,  provides  that  every  criminal — 
the  foulest  traitor  and  the  boldest  murderer — shall  have  a  fair  trial  by  an 
impartial  jury,  process  to  compel  the  attendance  of  his  witnesses,  and  the 
assistance  of  counsel.  It  is  a  part  of  a  lawyer's  oath  that  he  will  support  the 
constitution.  If  one  lawyer  ought  to  refuse  to  appear  for  a  criminal,  all 
should;  and  this  provision  ot  the  constitution  would  be  defeated  by  those 
who  have  taken  an  oath  to  obey  it.  The  oath  anciently  administered  to 
the  advocates  of  England  was  that  they  should  fight  for  their  clients. 
"  Make  war  "  was  the  injunction.  Of  course  no  advocate  is  either  required 
or  permitted  to  contend  for  a  proposition  of  law  which  he  does  not  believe 
to  be  sound,  nor  to  misrepresent  a  fact.  But  it  is  his  duty  to  press  every 
principle  of  law  favorable  to  his  client,  and  every  fact  in  his  favor,  upon 
the  consideration  of  the  judge,  who  alone  is  charged  with  the  duty  of 
deciding.  And  as  Chief  Justice  Marshall  once  said,  it  is  a  dreadful  bad 
case  that  hasn't  something  right  about  it. 

Now,  possibly,  this  may  not  meet  your  approbation.  But  it  has  the  ap 
probation  and  the  recorded  sanction  of  many  of  the  brightest  names  in 
history,  from  Cicero  to  Denman,  Brougham,  Marshall  and  Webster.  And 
a  lawyer  may  be  pardoned  for  following  the  advice  of  the  greatest  lawyers 
who  ever  lived,  in  regard  to  professional  duty,  even  in  opposition  to  the 
opinion  ot*  an  editor  as  celebrated  as  yourself. 


WORTHY   OF  JUNIUS.  309 

I  write  this,  hoping  to  provoke  you  to  a  further  discussion  of  the  subject, 
from  which  I  shall  obtain  the  benefit  of  a  free  advertisement  of  the  fact 
that  I  am  practicing  law  upon  sound  principles.  Advertisement  is  very 
expensive,  and  any  reasonable  device  to  escape  from  such  expense  is  allow 
able.  Affectionately  yours, 

MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 

WORTHY  OF  JUNIUS. 

To  this,  the  letter  having  some  reference  to  him,  Wash- 
burn  replied  through  the  Chicago  Tribune,  charging  his 
defeat  for  the  governorship  in  1873  upon  the  exasperated 
condition  of  public  sentiment  against  Carpenter  and  his  col 
league,  Senator  Howe,  because  they  had  taken  "  back  pay." 
To  that  Carpenter  replied  openly: 

WASHINGTON,  April  24,  1877. 

MY  DEAR  GENERAL: —  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
your  favor  of  the  6th  inst,  not  addressed  to  me,  but  evidently  intended  for 
my  perusal.  This  seems  to  be  your  favorite  form  of  correspondence.  The  last 
in  this  form,  was  your  letter  to  General  Rusk,  dated  April  17,  1871,  inspired 
by  your  discontent  with  private  life  and  your  anxiety  to  be  useful  to  the 
people  of  your  state  in  the  capacity  of  governor. 

In  November,  1874,  when  you  thought  your  friends  were  trying  to  force 
you  into  a  position  which  you  felt  would  be  dishonorable,  and  a  violation  of 
your  plighted  faith  to  occupy,  you  published  a  pretended  copy  of  that  let 
ter.  I  do  not  think  it  was  a  true  copy ;  but  as  you  say  it  was,  I  quote  from, 
it  the  following: 

"As  to  the  senatorship,  you  can  say  that  I  shall  never  contest  for  that 
position  against  either  Howe  or  Carpenter.  I  have  had  my  contest  with 
both  these  gentlemen,  and  do  not  care  to  renew  it." 

Your  letter  of  November  30,  1874,  published  with  the  pretended  copy  of 
your  former  letter,  was  undoubtedly  intended  to  show  your  friends  that  you 
could  not,  without  dishonor,  be  a  candidate  for  the  then  ensuing  senator- 
ship.  But  it  seems  that  your  friends,  who  knew  you  well,  did  not  believe 
that  you  would  refuse  an  office  merely  because  its  acceptance  involved  dis 
honor;  and  so — much  against  your  wishes,  no  doubt  —  they  continued  to 
press  you  as  a  candidate.  I  have  always  thought  that  you  were  rather  un 
fortunate  in  the  language  of  your  letter  ot  November,  1874 »  an^  that,  had 
you  shown  the  same  sternness  to  your  friends  that  you  exhibited  to  the 
rebels  at  Memphis,  they  would  have  desisted.  And  I  have  sometimes 
thought  that,  after  you  were  fairly  defeated  in  the  legislative  caucus  by  the 
•viva  voce  votes  of  more  than  a  majority  of  all  the  republican  members  of 
the  legislature,  you  might,  even  then,  have  done  something  towards  rescvr- 


3IO  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

ing  your  reputation  as  a  man  of  truth,  by  urging  your  friends  to  support 
the  regular  nominee.  But  probably  you  thought  it  was  too  late  to  preserve 
your  character;  and  so  you  resolved  to  show  that,  although  you  were 
uncertain  in  keeping  your  word,  you  were,  at  least,  to  be  relied  upon  when 
you  determined  to  break  it. 

In  your  letter  just  received,  you  express  your  reluctance  to  enter  into  a 
"  personal  controversy,"  and  say  you  write  only  to  "  vindicate  the  truth  of 
history."  That  you  have  returned  to  a  solicitude  for  truth  in  anything,  i» 
a  hopeful  sign  in  your  case;  and  in  that  endeavor  I  may  aid  you  by  supply 
ing  some  facts  you  find  it  convenient  —  perhaps  consolatory  —  to  forget. 

You  rebuke  the  editor  of  the  Republican  and  Leader  for  his  attack  upon 
me,  and  .  then  proceed  to  abuse  me  far  more  than  he  had  —  evidently  re 
garding  abuse  as  your  own  prerogative ;  and  so  far  as  it  rests  upon  misrep 
resentation,  no  one  will  question  your  superior  fitness. 

You  refer  to  your  masterly  retreat  in  the  campaign  of  1873,  and  seem 
offended  at  my  saying  you  "  scorned  all  assistance,  put  the  party  in  your 
pocket,  and  disappeared  with  it;"  and  you  express  the  belief  that  I  desired 
your  defeat.  In  this  you  are  mistaken.  I  desired  your  election ;  but  the 
people  did  not,  and,  in  the  light  of  your  subsequent  conduct,  I  must  confess 
they  were  right. 

Your  assertion  that  I  was  "  holding  the  most  intimate  relations,  at  the 
time,  with  the  most  powerful  opponents  of  the  republican  party,"  is  alto 
gether  worthy  of  you  —  it  is  entirely  false. 

You  proceed  to  unfold  the  reason  why  you  were  defeated  in  1873,  by 
more  than  fifteen  thousand  majority,  after  having  been  elected  two  years 
before  by  some  eight  or  ten  thousand.  And  with  characteristic  modesty, 
you  assert  your  personal  popularity;  and  to  prove  it, you  quote  a  resolution 
passed  by  the  convention  merely  to  catch  votes,  but  which  seems  to  have 
imposed  even  upon  you,  declaring  that  your  administration  had  been  "  very 
able,  wise  and  judicious."  I  infer  from  the  manner  in  which  you  parade 
this  resolution  that  you  mean  to  admit  that  it  is  true.  But  it  appears  from 
your  letter,  that  although  the  convention  nominated  you  unanimously  and 
puffed  you  gloriously,  yet  thirty-eight  thousand  republicans  refused  to 
vote  for  you.  The  inference  from  this  might  be  that  the  convention  did 
not  express  the  views  of  the  party  concerning  you ;  and  to  avoid  this  in 
ference,  you  try  to  show  why  it  was  that  so  "able,  wise  and  judicious"  a 
governor,  and  withal  one  so  very  popular,  was  unable,  after  a  thorough 
canvass  of  the  state  in  his  own  proper  person,  to  get  within  thirty-eight 
thousand  votes  of  the  strength  of  his  party. 

Your  productions  are  always  interesting  and  brilliant;  but  in  this  letter 
you  have  not  been  quite  so  clear  as  might  be  desired;  and  after  reading  your 
letter  over  several  times,  as  I  do  all  your  state  papers  and  public  speeches, 
I  am  still  in  doubt  whether  you  intend  to  charge  the  thirty-eight  thousand 
with  having  been  bribed  by  the  whisky  ring.  If  you  do  mean  this,  then 


WORTHY   OF  JUNIUS.  3! I 

the  charge  against  them  is  more  serious  than  your  charges  against  me. 
You  think  the  whisky  ring  poured  out  money  like  water  "to  compass 
your  defeat."  Your  newspaper  at  La  Crosse  is  charging,  even  down  to 
this  time,  that  Mr.  Keyes  was  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  whisky  ring. 
You  say  Mr.  Keyes  conducted  the  campaign  with  as  much  vigor  as 
possible  considering  the  obstacles  he  had  to  encounter.  Do  you  mean  to 
say  that  Mr.  Keyes  conducted  the  campaign  for  you  with  as  much  vigor  as 
was  consistent  with  the  fact  that  he  was  leading  the  whisky  ring  against 
you?  Private  instructions  to  your  La  Crosse  editor  might  have  more  in 
fluence  upon  him  than  your  published  regret  ot  the  articles  in  his  paper 
inspired  by  you. 

But  in  another  part  of  your  letter  you  represent  the  thirty  eight  thousand 
republicans  who  refused  to  vote  for  you,  not  as  bribed  by  the  whisky  ring, 
but  simply  disgusted  with  Senator  Howe  and  myself  in  regard  to  back 
pay — disgusted  with  me  because  1  voted  for  the  bill  and  took  the  money, 
thinking  it  was  right;  with  Senator  Howe,  who  voted  against  the  bill,  think 
ing  it  was  wrong,  but  took  the  money  because  he  wanted  it.  And  yet,  to 
do  Senator  Howe  justice,  it  should  be  stated  that  when  the  bill  which  in 
cluded  the  back-pay  section  was  put  in  peril  by  the  motion  of  Senator 
Wright,  of  Iowa,  to  recommit  the  bill  to  the  committee  —  the  result  of 
which,  had  the  motion  been  successful,  would  have  been  to  strike  out  the 
back-pay  section  —  the  question  upon  which  the  fate  of  back  pay  depended, 
Senator  Howe  voted  against  the  motion.  This  vote  was  given  when  the 
bill  needed  the  support  of  its  real  friends,  and  goes  far  to  excuse  his  vote 
against  the  bill  on  its  final  passage,  after  it  had  become  evident  that  it  would 
pass  the  senate  by  an  overwhelming  majority,  and  therefore  no  longer  stood 
in  need  of  the  votes  oi  those  senators  who  thought  the  bill  might  render 
those  who  voted  for  it  unpopular. 

You  quote  from  the  proceedings  of  the  convention  which  nominated  you 
for  re-election,  two  resolutions,  which  you  say  were  pointed  squarely  at  me. 

It  is  especially  at  this  point  that  "  the  truth  of  history  "  demands  a  state 
ment  somewhat  more  complete  than  you  find  it  convenient,  or  even  credit 
able  to  yourself  to  make. 

After  the  committee  had  retired  from  the  convention  to  agree  upon 
resolutions  —  a  majority  of  the  committee  being  my  warm  personal  friends  — 
Mr.  Keyes  went  to  the  room  of  the  committee  with  some  resolutions,  which 
I  am  informed  were  concocted  between  you  and  him,  and  which  were  aimed 
squarely  against  me,  and  urged  the  committee  to  report  them  as  a  part  of 
the  platform.  This  the  committee  refused  to  do.  Afterwards  Mr.  Keyes 
re-appeared  before  the  committee,  disclaimed  any  thought  of  making  an 
attack  upon  me,  and  declared  himself  to  be  my  warm  friend;  whereupon 
the  committee  took  the  resolutions  and  modified  them  so  as  to  make  them 
entirely  unpersonal,  and  adopted  them.  Therefore  when  you  speak  of  the 


312  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

resolutions  as  aimed  squarely  at  me,  it  is  fair  to  presume  you  refer  to  the 
resolutions  1  you  and  Mr.  Keyes  agreed  upon,  and  not  those  reported  to  and 
adopted  by  the  convention. 

•  Nevertheless,  the  resolutions  as  adopted  condemned  back  pay  and  de 
manded  the  repeal  of  the  law.  This,  you  assume,  was  the  cause  of  your 
defeat.  But  "  the  truth  of  history  "  requires  it  to  be  stated  why  it  was  that 
j'our  defeat  was  accomplished  by  public  indignation  against  Senator  Howe 
and  myself.  The  people,  very  likely,  would  have  elected  you,  and  reserved 
their  wrath  for  Senator  Howe  and  myself,  but  for  the  fact  that  you  were,  in 
regard  to  back  pay,  "the  original  Jacobs,"  and  we  were  only  your  imitators. 
The  history  of  back  pay  is  now  so  well  understood  that  you  merely  show 
your  contempt  of  public  intelligence  by  trying  to  shirk  responsibility  your 
self  and  heap  odium  upon  Senator  Howe  and  myself.  In  1856  the  back 
pay  bill  passed  the  house  of  representatives,  of  which  you  were  a  member, 
by  only  one  majority.  You  voted  for  it.  So  your  vote  passed  the  bill. 
Had  you  voted  the  other  way  the  bill  would  have  been  defeated.  This  is 
the  reason  why  public  indignation  against  back  pay  fell  upon  "you.  You 
and  Mr.  Keyes  ingeniously  "digged  a  pit"  for  Senator  Howe  and  myself; 
and  you  were  the  first  to  fall  into  it.  The  manifest  purpose  of  the  people 
was  to  bury  us  all  in  the  same  grave.  I  never  felt  proud  of  the  compan 
ionship  as  far  as  you  were  concerned,  but  I  could  not  dispute  your  right  to 
be  there.  The  great  mistake  you  and  Mr.  Keyes  made,  looking  to  the  suc 
cess  of  the  party —  and  neither  of  you  cared  for  anything  else — was  in 
directing  public  attention  to,  and  expressing  public  condemnation  of,  a  mat 
ter  in  which  you  were  as  deep  in  the  mud  as  Senator  Howe  and  myself 
were  in  the  mire.  It  might  have  been  very  well  for  you  to  have  cast  cen 
sure  upon  us  if  you  could  have  destroyed  all  evidence  of  the  fact  that,  if 
we  were  in  the  wrong,  it  was  in  following  your  example.  But  this  you  could 
not  do.  And  your  resolutions  were  a  flat  condemnation  of  yourself  as  the  first 
transgressor.  The  people  found  in  your  platform  a  positive  condemnation  of 
back  pay.  They  knew  you  had  been  the  first  to  vote  it  and  pocket  it.  There 
fore  your  platform  was  regarded  as  your  own  confession.  And  whatever  the 
thirty-eight  thousand  republicans  might  have  thought  of  back  pay,  they 
would  not  vote  for  a  candidate  who  was  proclaimed  by  his  own  platform  to  be 
a  rascal.  The  lesson  of  prudence  this  suggests  for  your  future  consideration 
is,  that,  before  condemning  your  neighbor,  you  should  first  ask  yourself  how 
many  times  you  have  done  the  same  thing.  Mr.  Keyes  is  too  smart  to  have 
committed  such  a  blunder  if  he  had  been  upon  the  state  ticket  with  back 
pay  in  his  pocket,  as  you  were.  But  his  love  for  you  is  not  greater  than 

1  These  resolutions  were  drafted  by  Ed.  E.  Bryant,  of  Madison  —  not  by 
Keyes  or  Washburn.  They  did  deprecate  "  back  pay,"  but  not  as  a  per 
sonal  thrust  against  Carpenter  and  Howe,  but  as  a  matter  of  party  policy. 


WORTHY   OF  JUNIUS.  313 

his  love  for  me,  and  by  no  means  equals  his  love  of  himself.  Possibly  he 
may  have  seen  that  such  resolutions  would  kill  Senator  Howe,  yourself 
and  myself.  And  it  remains  to  be  seen  whether  he  was  not  right.  But 
your  astuteness  in  the  transaction  is  not  equally  clear,  because  your  resolu 
tions  lifted  the  bludgeon  above  your  own  head,  and  you  were  sure  to  receive 
its  first  blow,  as  you  did. 

Had  your  skirts  been  clear  of  what  your  platform  denounced  as  rascality, 
the  people,  if  they  took  your  view  of  it,  might  have  rejoiced  in  being  able 
to  vote  for  you  as  the  onlv  "able,  wise,  judicious  "  and/wre  man  left.  But 
after  you  had  raised  the  cry  of  "  Stop,  thief!  "  against  those  who  had  voted 
and  taken  back  pay,  it  was  found  out  that  you  had  the  same  infirmity. 

It  would  have  been  strange,  indeed,  after  you  had  by  your  platform  in 
flamed  the  public  mind  upon  this  subject,  if  the  people,  in  the  very  heat  of 
their  wrath,  had  voted  for  you,  whose  example  Senator  Howe  and  myself 
had  only  followed. 

There  was  another  cause  contributing  to  your  defeat  which  you  forgot  to 
mention.  While  the  people  can  swallow  you  if  it  is  absolutely  necessary, 
they  have  never  hankered  for  you.  You  have  always  been  a  nauseous 
dose.  It  was  all  your  friends  and  enemies  combined  could  do  to  nominate 
you  for  governor  in  1871.  Hon.  Win.  E.  Smith  came  very  near  beating 
you.  But  you  squeezed  in ;  and  you  admit  that  you  made  a  good  gov 
ernor,  a  "very  able,  wise  and  judicious  "  governor.  You  might  have  been 
re-elected  governor  in  1873.  That  was  not  what  you  were  after.  You 
were  panting  for  the  senate.  You  were  determined  to  succeed  me,  or  four 
years  later  to  succeed  Senator  Howe;  and  many  believed  you  intended  to 
succeed  both  of  us.  Holding  one  office,  so  far  from  satisfying  your  ambi 
tion,  only  sharpened  your  appetite.  -After  you  were  nominated  you  resolved 
to  play  a  lone  hand  in  the  campaign.  You  did  not  want  any  help  on  the 
stump.  You  wanted  to  carry  the  party  to  success  by  your  own  unaided 
effort.  Your  speeches  made  no  allusion  to  anybody  but  yourself;  indeed, 
you  seemed  to  wish  the  people  to  see  no  one,  hear  no  one,  support  no  one, 
but  yourself. 

You  got  the  full  force  of  public  indignation  against  back  pay,  because 
you  were  the  first  transgressor;  and  to  this  was  added  a  huge  disgust  of 
your  vanity,  pomposity  and  self- sufficiency.  This  was  the  weight  that 
pulled  you  down. 

After  writing  to  my  friends  in  1871,  asking  them  to  support  you  for  gov 
ernor,  I  received  from  one  of  them  a  letter,  from  which,  to  show  how  much 
better  he  knew  you  than  I  did,  I  make  the  following  quotation : 

''You  are  making  a  great  mistake.  Washburn  is  a  natural  hog.  He 
has  no  appreciation  of  justice;  much  less  a  sense  of  generosity  or  honor. 
No  matter  what  he  may  promise,  he  will  use  all  the  influence  he  may  ac 
quire  as  governor  to  beat  you  for  re-election  to  the  senate.  You  can  give 


314  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

no  excuse  for  trusting  him;  and,  when  his  treachery  shall  secure  your  ruin, 
your  fate  will  excite  no  pity ;  because  every  one  will  say  you  ought  to  have 
known  better.  He  is  dead  now,  having  been  defeated  for  re-nomination  to 
congress  in  his  own  district;  and  I  don't  see  why  you  wish  to  resurrect 
him." 

With  all  the  admiration  for  you,  my  dear  general,  which  your  qualities 
are  calculated  to  inspire,  I  am  very  respectfully, 

MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 


VICTORY   AND   RETRIBUTION.  315 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

VICTORY  AND  RETRIBUTION. 

Carpenter's  third  canvass  for  the  senatorship  was  from 
every  point  of  view  an  extraordinary  one.  Howard  M. 
Kutchin,  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  (Wis.)  Commonwealth,  had,  in 
the  course  of  natural  events,  formed  a  strong  personal  at 
tachment  for  Carpenter.  In  addition  to  this,  he  had  been 
engaged  in  a  bitter  political  feud  with  Timothy  O.  Howe, 
whose  term  in  the  United  States  senate  would  expire  on  the 
4th  of  March,  1879.  This  fact  added  a  sharp  flavor  of 
earnestness  and  aggression  to  his  efforts  which  they  might 
not  otherwise  have  had.  Very  early  in  1878,  therefore,  he 
set  forth  in  his  paper  his  idea  of  the  justness  and  general 
desirability  of  choosing  some  young,  vigorous  and  popular 
man  as  the  successor  of  Mr.  Howe,  his  object  being  two 
fold —  the  destruction  of  Howe  and  the  elevation  of  Car 
penter. 

He  had  few  helpers.  Nevertheless  the  battle  was  contin 
ued  according  to  a  simple  plan,  without  a  word  or  sign  from 
Carpenter,  who  was  deaf  to  all  importunities,  refusing  to  be 
come  a  candidate  for  the  reason  that  he  could  not  afford  the 
sacrifice.  He  had  important  litigation  on  hand  that  was  not 
only  bringing  a  handsome  income,  but  would  demand  his 
attention  for  some  distance  into  the  future.  Therefore,  he  ex 
postulated,  to  enter  into  a  political  struggle,  especially  if  it 
should  be  a  successful  one,  would  seriously  impair  his  pro 
fessional  business.  This  dogged  persistency  in  refusing  to 
accede  to  the  wishes  of  his  warmest  and  dearest  friends  had 
no  deterrent  effect  on  their  efforts  in  his  behalf,  and  in  the 
course  of  a  few  weeks  a  respectable  number  of  influential 
journals  had  formally  enlisted  in  his  cause. 


316  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 


MYSTIFICATION. 

Thus  the  demonstration  in  his  behalf  grew  to  apparent 
strength  and  magnitude.  Although  it  had  gone  on  until  it 
would  have  been  not  less  impossible  than  unpleasant  and 
ignominious  to  destroy  and  abandon  it;  and  although  appar 
ently  there  was  no  alternative  but  to  permit  himself  to  be 
announced  as  a  candidate,  yet  he  still  refused  to  say  the 
word.  It  was  while  the  effort  to  get  some  formal  decision 
from  him  was  going  forward  that  he  submitted  to  an  "  inter 
view  "  by  a  newspaper  correspondent  at  Washington.  It 
was  the  correspondent's  intention  to  discover  whether  Car 
penter  was  a  candidate.  After  giving  his  views  freely  upon 
the  injury  the  republican  organization  had  received  from  Pres 
ident  Hayes'  policy  of  so-called  civil  service  reform  and  of 
allowing  southern  democratic  congressmen  to  control  repub 
lican  federal  patronage,  he  was  led  down  to  the  senatorship: 

Correspondent. —  Will  Howe  be  returned  tp  the  senate? 

Mr.  C. —  It  is  impossible  to  say.  If  he  had  served  but  one  term  he  would 
undoubtedly  be  re-elected.  But  many  think  that  twenty-four  years,  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  in  the  senate  is  too  long  from  a  young  and  growing 
state  like  ours.  But  others  think  that  his  experience  would  be  valuable 
and  for  that  reason  he  ought  to  be  retained. 

Cor.—  Is  Philetus  Sawyer  a  candidate? 

Mr.  C. —  It  is  understood  that  Sawyer  will  support  Howe  while  he  has 
any  chance,  and  will  become  a  candidate  if  Howe  can  not  be  re-elected. 

Cor. —  What  kind  of  a  senator  would  Sawyer  make  ? 

Mr.  C. —  One  evidence  of  a  man's  ability  to  fill  a  public  position  is  his 
success  in  his  private  life.  Mr.  Sawyer  has  been  eminently  successful  in 
business.  While  in  congress  he  achieved  a  reputation  second  to  that  of  no 
member  ever  elected  from  our  state.  He  would  make  a  good  senator.  1 

Cor. —  How  about  Key es  ? 

Mr.  C. —  Keyes  has  always  been  an  active,  energetic  republican,  indefati 
gable  in  his  efforts  for  the  success  of  the  party.  He  has  been  postmaster  up 
ward  of  sixteen  years,  and  chairman  of  the  state  central  committee,  and  has 
necessarily  made  bitter  enemies.  But  he  has  strong  friends  also,  and  if  he 
should  be  elected  senator  would  not  only  give  strict  attention  to  the  details 

1  Sawyer  was  chosen  senator  in  1881. 


MYSTIFICATION.  317 

of  political  affairs,  but  would  devote  himself  untiringly  and  successfully  to 
the  interests  of  his  constituents. 

Cor. —  But  every  one  I  see  from  Wisconsin  says  you  are  a  candidate  and 
are  to  succeed  Howe. 

Mr.  C. —  Yes.  I  hear  this  four  or  five  times  every  day  myself,  but  I 
never  believe  more  than  half  I  hear. 

Cor. —  Why  do  you  not  announce  yourself  as  a  candidate?  There  seems 
to  be  an  impression  that  your  chances  would  be  good. 

Mr.  C. —  In  the  first  pl;ice  I  am  not  and  never  was  a  politician. 

When  I  became  a  candidate  in  1868  I  had  been  in  the  republican  party 
only  since  the  war,  and  those  republicans  who  believed  that  no  good  could 
be  done  by  any  man  who  ever  had  been  a  democrat  lacked  confidence  in 
my  republicanism,  and  predicted  that  if  I  should  be  elected  I  would  betray 
the  party.  The  contest,  therefore,  became  personal.  My  support  came 
from  personal  rather  than  political  friends.  But  my  friends  rallied  from 
every  part  of  the  state,  spending  their  time,  paying  their  own  expenses, 
hundreds  actually  sleeping  on  the  floors  of  the  hotels  when  other  accommo 
dations  could  not  be  had.  Rock  county,  in  particular,  where  I  had  lived 
from  boyhood,  sent  an  army  to  Madison,  and  one  dear  old  friend  —  Colonel 
Burdick  —  staid  there  three  weeks,  electioneering  all  day  and  praying  all 
night  for  my  success.  .No  man  ever  had  warmer  friends  than  thronged 
about  me  in  that  contest,  and  they  literally  bore  me  through  the  storm  and 
landed  me  in  the  senate.  There,  for  six  of  the  best  years  of  my  life,  I  la 
bored  incessantly  to  prove  myself  worthy  of  the  support  of  such  friends. 
At  the  end  of  my  term  I  was  a  candidate  for  re-election  by  a  viva  voce  vote 
of  more  than  a  majority  of  all  the  republicans  in  the  legislature,  and  from 
the  first  to  the  last  ballot  I  received  the  votes  of  more  than  two-thirds  of 
all  the  republican  members  of  the  legislature.  What  followed  is  well 
known  to  all  our  state.  I  was  defeated  and  Mr.  Cameron  was  elected. 
During  this  contest  my  friends  rallied  again  with  the  same  enthusiasm  as 
before,  spending  days  and  weeks  at  their  own  expense  to  secure  my  re 
election.  Now,  while  I  would  make  any  sacrifice  in  my  power  to  confer 
favor  upon  these  friends,  I  have  not  the  cheek  to  ask  them  to  make  further 
efforts  in  my  behalf.  Since  my  defeat  I  have  devoted  myself  exclusively 
to  my  profession,  and  have  good  hope  of  being  able  to  pay  my  taxes  and 
support  mv  family  without  seeking  any  political  position. 

Cor. —  You  don't  mean  to  say,  then,  that  you  would  not  accept  the  posi 
tion  if  your  friends  should  elect  you? 

Mr.  C. —  I  think  what  I  have  said  covers  the  question.  My  professional 
experience  has  taught  me  that  a  witness  who  volunteers  testimony  gener 
ally  gets  into  trouble. 

This  interview  was  very  generally  reproduced  by  the 
newspapers  of  Wisconsin.  Many  were  wholly  unable  to 


318  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

come  to  a  firm  conclusion  as  to  the  exact  meaning  of  the  ttaive 
reply  which  ended  it.  Some  were  of  opinion  that  it  was  a 
final  declension  of  the  office,  while  others  thought  the  correct 
interpretation  should  be  "  Barkis  is  willinV 

A  man  of  mystery  is  always  a  man  of  success  as  well  as 
fame ;  and  so,  in  the  midst  of  the  mystification  this  interview 
produced,  the  campaign  progressed  with  renewed  interest  if 
not  with  increased  effectiveness.  Curiosity  as  to  whether 
Carpenter  was  really  a  candidate  for  the  senatorship  had 
hardly  become  fairly  aroused  when  the  following  letter,  in 
response  to  the  sharp  attacks  of  the  Chicago  Tribune^  ap 
peared  in  that  paper: 

WASHINGTON,  Aug.  18,  1878. 

A  friend  has  just  sent  me  an  editorial  article  from  jour  paper  of  some 
days  ago,  in  which  you  represent  me  as  having  been  out  of,  and  now  trying 
to  return  to,  the  republican  party. 

The  interest  you  have  always  taken  in  my  political  welfare,  and  the  fact 
that  you  have  recently  nominated  me  as  a  greenback  candidate  for  congress 
in  the  Milwaukee  district,  authorize  me  to  ask  you  to  point  out  what  word 
spoken  by  me  or  what  act  performed  by  me  has  indicated  that  I  was  out  of 
the  republican  party  at  any  time  since  I  joined  it. 

You  say,  since  my  defeat  for  re-election  to  the  senate,  my  political  status 
has  been  " matter  of  conjecture"  With  you  it  may  have  been.  There  are 
men  who  never  get  beyond  conjecture,  and  whose  minds  never  settle  "into 
the  calm  of  a  contented  knowledge"  upon  any  subject.  After  reading 
your  paper  for  years,  through  the  mazes  and  bewilderment  of  your  financial 
theories,  and  seeing  your  paper  facing  sometimes  one  way  and  sometimes 
the  other  —  sometimes  for  Greeley  and  sometimes  for  Grant,  —  I  have  long 
since  classed  you  in  this  category. 

But  in  the  article  before  me  you  say  that  my  appearance  before  the  elect 
oral  commission  was  regarded  as  a  repudiation  of  party  fealty,  and  my 
friends  had  lost  all  faith  in  my  republican  integrity. 

Before  any  friend  of  mine,  or  even  you,  can  maintain  that  my  appearance 
there  was  a  repudiation  of  party  fealty,  you  must  first  establish  another 
proposition  upon  which  it  depends,  viz.:  that  the  object  of  the  electoral 
commission  proceeding  was  not  honestly  to  ascertain  who  had  been  elected, 
but  to  seat  Mr.  Hayes,  -whether  he  had  been  elected  or  not. 

I  then  had,  and  still  have,  too  much  confidence  in  the  honesty  of  the 
republican  party  to  suppose  that  it  desired  any  but  a  fair  and  honest  trial ; 
a  trial  in  which  both  sides  should  be  fully  heard  by  counsel,  after  which  an 
impartial  judicial  judgment  should  be  pronounced,  by  which  all  parties 
should,  in  honor,  be  bound. 


MYSTIFICATION.  319 

I  was  not  in  public  life,  but  was  practicing  my  profession  to  earn  a  living; 
and  upon  the  theory  that  the  object  of  that  trial  was  to  ascertain,  not  who 
ought  to  have  been,  but  who,  in  fact,  had  been  elected,  my  appearance  there 
was  no  more  a  repudiation  of  party  fealty  than  it  is  for  a  republican  lawyer 
to  appear  ior  a  democratic  plaintiff  against  a  republican  defendant  in  an  action 
of  ejectment,  or  assault  and  battery.  It  was  not  prejudice  or  party  passion, 
but  law  and  facts,  which  were  to  be  inquired  into,  as  a  basis  of  the  decision 
of  the  commi  sion.  The  trial  was  had,  the  decision  pronounced,  and  the 
people  accepted  the  decision,  as  they  do  that  of  all  courts,  as  conclusive  of 
the  right  of  the  successful  party  to  hold  the  office  in  question. 

In  the  trial  of  Andrew  Johnson  on  impeachment  —  a  political  trial, —  Mr. 
Evarts  appeared  as  counsel  for  Mr.  Johnson.  So  far  from  losing  his  party 
status  by  so  doing,  he  was  immediately  afterward  confirmed  by  a  republi 
can  senate  as  attorney-general,  and  is  now  secretary  of  state  under  Mr. 
Hayes. 

The  commission  as  constituted  was  composed  of  a  majority  of  republican 
members;  and  there  was  never  any  great  danger  that  Tilden  would  be 
made  President  by  its  decision,  unless  he  was  fairly  entitled;  and  if  he 
was,  I  suppose  every  honest  man  desired  that  he  should  have  the  office. 

Again,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  the  argument  I  made  there  should  read 
me  out  of  the  republican  party,  when  it  is  considered  that  in  the  senate,  two 
years  before,  I  had  made  speeches  on  the  bill  for  a  new  election  in  Louisi 
ana,  contending  for  precisely  the  same  propositions  I  maintained  in  argu 
ment  before  the  commission,  and  was  then  sustained  by  the  votes  of  a 
majority  of  republican  senators,  after  which  I  was  supported  for  re-election 
by  two-thirds  of  the  republican  members  of  the  legislature,  and  was  only 
defeated  by  the  action  of  the  democratic  party,  aided  by  some  personal 
enemies  in  my  own  party. 

You  say  that  there  has  been  talk  of  late  about  my  being  a  compromise 
candidate  for  the  senate,  to  be  supported  by  democrats  and  my  personal 
friends  among  the  republicans. 

There  are  many  democrats  in  our  state  I  am  proud  to  claim  as  personal 
friends,  and,  if  I  were  a  candidate,  I  should  be  proud  of  their  support;  pro 
vided,  always,  it  was  not  obtained  by  false  pretenses.  But  I  should  feel 
humiliated  and  disgraced,  were  I  to  accept  an  office  conferred  by  them 
under  false  impressions  of  my  political  status,  or  false  expectations  of  my 
future  political  course. 

I  am  aware  that,  ordinarily,  it  is  great  indiscretion  to  enter  into  a  contro 
versy  with  an  editor,  who  has  so  much  the  advantage.  But  in  this  instance 
I  can  lose  nothing.  You  have  always  treated  me  as  meanly  as  you  knew 
how,  and,  from  reading  your  paper,  I  see  no  evidence  that  your  capacity  is 
on  the  increase.  Truly  yours, 

MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 


32O  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 


THE  MATTER  SETTLED. 

Those  who  were  opposed  to  Carpenter's  election  were 
further  rejoiced  over  their  own  interpretation  of  next  to  the 
last  paragraph  in  the  preceding  letter.  They  declared  it  to 
be  a  plain  denial  of  his  candidacy,  and  raised  a  vociferous 
clamor  about  those  who  were  yet  in  doubt.  This  was  done 
for  the  purpose  of  confounding  as  many  as  possible  of  those 
who  would  naturally,  in  a  clear  campaign,  be  Carpenter's 
supporters.  But  the  deterrent  influences  of  uncertainty  were 
finally  destroyed  in  an  effective  and  flattering  manner.  A 
petition,  dated  August  26th,  signed  by  several  thousands  of 
the  leading  business  and  professional  men  of  Milwaukee,  ask 
ing  him  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  senatorship,  reached 
Carpenter  on  the  i8th  of  September.  On  the  day  following, 
his  reply  was  given  to  the  public: 

,  MILWAUKEE,  Sept.  18,  1878. 

Messrs.  Bradley  and  Metcalf,  E.  B.  Wolcott,  M.  D.,  Fred.  Pabst,  John  Pritz- 
laff,  J.  H.  Inbusch,  G.  Pfister,  David  Adler,  Chas.  E.  Andrews,  George 
Burnham,  Rud.  Nunnemacher,  J.  B.  Le  Saulnier,  Jacob  Blum,  R.  W. 
Pierce,  Christ  Fernekes,  J.  A.  Becher,  George  Dyer,  C.  D.  Nash,  J.  H. 
Van  Dyke,  N.  J.  Emmons,  Goldsmith  &  Co.,  Smith  &  Chandler,  Chas. 
Munkwitz,  Kellogg  Sexton,  Starkweather  &  Co.,  E.  Boardman  &  Son, 
L.  F.  Hodges,  W.  S.  Candee,  Rich  &  Silber,  D.  Fishbeck,  Julius  Na- 
thanson,  B.  J.  Johnson,  P.  Rooney,  C.  A.  Folsom,  Christ  Meyer,  A.  J. 
W.  Pierce,  Samuel  Brown,  P.  L.  Dohmen,  S.  Bryant,  Henry  Katz,  H. 
L.  Eisen  &  Co.,  R.  L.  Potter,  Isaac  Ellsworth,  Zinns,  Goetz  &  Co.,  A. 
Kirst,  T.  P.  Collingbourne,  Wm.  A.  Prentiss,  Jas.  Johnson,  M.  D.,  N. 

A.  Gray,  M.  D.,  Chas.  Winterfeldt,  J.  M.  Alcott  &  Co.,  Geo.  Wright  & 
Bro.,  O.  P.  Wolcott,  M.  D.,  Mueller  &  Ilhardt,  F.  Borchert  &  Son,  J. 

B.  Oliver,  A.  V.  Bishop,  O.  D.  Bjorkquist,  Ed.  Aschermann  &  Co.,  J.  H. 
Rice  &  Friedmann,  B.  Leidersdorf  &  Co.,  Adolphe  Meinecke,  Edward 
Sanderson,  J.  B.  Hoeger  &  Sons,  John  Shadbolt,  A.  F.  Leopold,  John 
Thorsen,  Geo.  M.  Tibbits,  Goll  &  Frank,  John  M.  Crombie,  H.  Mueller  & 
Co.,  Joseph  Gary,  Matthews  Bros.,  Carpeles,  Heiser&  Co.,  Joseph  Phil 
lips,  Henry  Boetz,  Nathan  Brick,  S.  A.  Harrison,  Anson  Bros.,  Charles 
Fricke,  L.  Newbouer  &  Sons,  Max  Landauer,  David  Vance,  Thos.  H. 
Brown,  W.  A.  Collins,  F.  T.  Day,  A.  T.  Riddell,  Wm.  Ahearn,  A.  H. 
Atkins,  Jas.  T.  Bradford,  Markham  Bros.,  M.  F.  Tooker,   H.  S.  Man- 
ville,  Leo  Roth,  H.  R.  Bond,  W.  G.  Lamberton,  T.  L.  Mitchell  &  Co., 


THE    MATTER    SETTLED.  321 

II.  B.  Pearson,   Fred.  J.  Johnson,  W.  G.  Fitch,  E.  P.  Smith,  Geo.  W. 

Swift,  Chas.  F.  A.  Seefeldt,  Gottlieb  Schweitzer,  G.  J.  Hart  &  Co.,  A.  H 

Woodruff,  Chas.  E.  Lavt-rty,   Herman  Toser,  Dr.  W.  A.  Fricke,   F. 

Breinig,   M.  D.,   L.  R.   Roeder,  Rundle  &   Spence,  Davidson  &  Sons, 

and  others  : 

Gentlemen  —  It  would  be  great  hypocrisy  for  me  to  pretend  not  to  be 
gratified  and  flattered  by  the  communication  just  received  from  you,  signed 
as  it  is  by  so  many  substantial  citizens  and  business  men,  my  neighbors  and 
townsmen,  asking  me  to  allow  my  name  to  be  presented  to  the  legislature, 
next  winter,  among  those  from  whom  a  senator  of  the  United  States  is  to 
be  selected.  Since  I  was  retired  from  the  senate  by  the  legislature  of  1875, 
I  have  devoted  myself  exclusively  to  the  practice  of  my  profession;  and  my 
engagements  are  such  at  present  that  I  can  not  make  a  canvass  of  the  state, 
or  organize  or  carry  on  a  campaign  to  secure  my  election,  without  neglect 
ing  the  interests  of  my  clients;  and  whoever  would  desert  his  clients  would 
betray  his  constituents.  But  I  hold  it  to  be  as  imperatively  the  duty  of  a 
citizen  to  serve  in  a  public  office  to  which  he  is  elected  as  it  is  to  pay  his 
taxes.  Therefore,  if  the  legislature  shall  see  fit  to  elect  me  to  the  senate,  I 
will  accept  the  trust  with  gratitude  and  execute  it  to  the  best  of  my 
ability,  advocating  and  supporting  the  measures  which  seem  best  calculated 
to  promote  the  public  good.  Truly  yours, 

MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 

The  enthusiasm  of  Carpenter's  personal  following,  which, 
irrespective  of  party,  had  always  been  greater  than  that  of 
any  other  man  in  his  state,  was  now  unlimited.  Neverthe 
less,  they  had  before  them  a  formidable  task.  The  oppo 
sition  was  powerful  —  to  many  irresistible.  Timothy  O. 
Howe,  who  had  served  eighteen  years  in  the  senate,  was 
a  candidate  for  re-election,  and  was  very  strong.  He  had 
not  only  the  support  of  the  federal  officials  appointed  during 
his  long  service,  but  that  of  numerous  influential  journals  and 
of  the  chairman  of  the  republican  state  central  committee. 
Elisha  W.  Keyes,  of  Madison,  known  as  the  "  Warwick  of 
Wisconsin  politics,"  a  man  of  tremendous  energy,  great 
political  resources,  splendid  courage,  and  personal  acquaint 
ance  with  almost  every  voter  in  the  state,  was  also  a  can 
didate,  while  Cadwallader  C.  Washburn  had  a  following 
of  some  magnitude.  Carpenter  had  been  out  of  the  senate 
nearly  four  years,  and  was  therefore  without  the  support  of 

21 


322  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

any  official  machinery;  he  had  spent  much  of  his  time  out  of 
the  state  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  upon  the  sum 
mit  of  this  bore  the  heavy  burden  of  all  the  disasters  conse 
quent  upon  previous  defeat.  Nevertheless  the  announcement 
of  his  candidacy  developed  enthusiasm  among  the  masses,  \ 
and  the  effort  to  again  place  him  in  the  senate  he  had  so  richly 
adorned  began  in  seriousness. 

In  less  than  two  weeks  after  he  had  consented  to  be  a  can 
didate,  the  leading  republicans  of  Milwaukee,  fearing,  per 
haps,  that  the  combination  of  circumstances  referred  to 
would  make  his  election  impossible,  but  knowing  that  his 
personal  popularity  would  carry  him  through  that  strong 
democratic  district  in  which  the  election  of  any  other  repub 
lican  appeared  hopeless,  united  in  a  telegram  asking  him  to 
consent  to  the  use  of  his  name  as  a  candidate  for  congress. 
This  was  the  prompt  reply: 

WASHINGTON,  Oct.  x. 
To  EDWARD  SANDERSON  AND  OTHERS: 

I  dislike  to  deny  anything  to  my  friends,  but  I  can  not  be  a  candidate  for 
the  house  of  representatives.  In  that  bear-garden  I  should  be  utterly  lost. 

MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 

The  campaign  having  now  opened  in  earnest,  the  sup 
porters  of  the  other  senatorial  candidates  began  their  assaults 
upon  Carpenter.  Some  of  them  were  unfair,  and  all  of  them 
industriously  bitter.  George  W.  Allen,  a  wealthy  leather 
merchant  of  Milwaukee,  was  an  embryo  candidate  for  the 
senatorship,  and  being  a  leading  member  of  the  "  Honest 
Money  League,"  made  his  principal  attacks  on  Carpenter's 
financial  record  in  congress.  The  Washburn  lieutenants  made 

O 

steady  onslaughts  upon  his  republicanism,  while  the  sup 
porters  of  Keyes  and  Howe  were  mostly  engaged  in  righting 
each  other.  These  attacks  brought  several  spirited  replies 
from  Carpenter.  In  those  days,  before  the  resumption  of 
specie  payments  had  been  accomplished,  while  the  silver- 
craze  was  rampant,  and  the  greenback  party,  with  its  poison 
ous  but  seductive  heresy,  was  making  disastrous  inroads 


THE   MATTER   SETTLED.  323 

upon  both  old  parties,  to  quiver  upon  the  question  of  finances 
was  a  more  serious  matter  than  can  be  easily  appreciated  at 
the  present  time.  That  Carpenter  was  lame  in  his  financial 
statesmanship  was  the  gravest  allegation  against  him.  To 
establish  the  falsity  of  the  indictment,  H.  M.  Kutchin  pub 
lished,  late  in  the  campaign,  this  private  letter: 

WASHINGTON,  Aug.  i,  1878. 

DEAR  KUTCHIN:  —  Many  thanks  for  your  kind  letter  just  received. 
You  say  my  enemies  are  saying  that  I  am  not  sound  on  the  financial  ques 
tion,  and  that  I  am  coquetting  with  democrats  and  greenbackers ;  and  you 
say  that  I  ought  to  deny  it. 

To  this  I  reply  that  I  am  a  republican,  and  stand  fair  and  square  upon 
every  plank  of  the  party  platform,  financial  and  all.  If  the  party  is  sound, 
I  am.  And  this  you  can  assert  without  fear  of  being  confounded  by  any 
thing  I  have  ever  said  or  written,  or  ever  shall  say  or  write.  I  can  see  no 
reason  for  saying  anything  upon  the  subject  over  my  own  signature,  as  the 
opinion  of  a  private  citizen  is  of  no  consequence  to  the  public.  As  I  have 
always  cordially  supported  every  principle  of  the  party,  never  scratched  a 
ticket  nor  bolted  a  nomination,  why  should  I  be  required  to  enter  into 
bonds  to  keep  the  peace,  or  make  pledges  of  mv  political  fidelity?  Who 
has  any  reason  to  doubt  it?  Who  pretends  to  doubt  it?  Certainly  none 
but  my  enemies.  All  that  has  been  said  about  a  meditated  coalition  be 
tween  my  personal  friends  and  democrats,  or  soft-money  men,  is  said  by 
my  enemies,  for  the  purpose  of  injuring  me  in  the  estimation  of  republi 
cans;  and  no  matter  how  peremptorily  I  might  deny  it,  I  could  not  stop 
their  mouths.  And,  it  seems  to  me,  it  would  be  unpardonable  vanity  for 
me  to  make  any  declaration  of  my  faith  or  denial  of  these  slanders. 
Nevertheless,  as  I  have  said,  you  are  at  liberty  to  assert  my  republicanism 
as  broadly  as  language  can  do,  and  I  will  vindicate  the  truth  of  what  you 
may  say. 

I  am  thoroughly  persuaded  that  the  destinies  of  this  country  are  safe 
only  in  republican  hands;  and  that  the  platform  of  the  party  contains  the 
only  possible  solution  of  the  financial  problem.  Resumption  on  the  ist 
of  January  next  is  now  fixed  by  law;  and  I  believe  that  the  government 
can  stand  its  hand  in  that  endeavor.  If,  however,  it  should  prove  other 
wise,  and  the  experiment  should  fail  —  as  I  hope  and  believe  it  will  not, — 
still  the  republican  party  can  be  trusted  to  deal  with  any  new  emergencies 
which  may  arise,  as  it  has  done  successfully  in  the  past;  and  I  shall  cling 
to  it  in  good  hope,  no  matter  what  may  happen.  No  country  can  expect  to 
prosper  in  commerce  with  the  world  without  a  currency  of  coin,  or  paper 
equivalent  in  value  to,  and  readily  convertible  into,  coin;  and  any  experi- 


324  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

ment  with  irredeemable  paper  would  only  land  us  in  grief,  and  we  should 
be  compelled  to  retrace  our  steps,  sorrowing. 

I  have  no  anxiety  to  be  elected  to  the  senate;  but  I  am  anxious  to  stand 
fair  in  the  estimation  of  my  political  friends;  and  shall  hereafter,  as  I  have 
heretofore,  vote  the  party  ticket,  advocate  its  doctrines,  and  support  its 
measures;  and  you  may  say  so,  without  fear  of  being  compelled  by  my 
future  course  to  recant  your  assurances. 

Truly  yours,  MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 

RESPECTS  TO   MR.  ALLEN. 

Geo.  W.  Allen  came  forward  and  charged  that  the  letter 
had  been  ante-dated,  and  proceeded  to  show  that,  if  it  had 
not,  it  was  a  false  exposition  of  Carpenter's  financial  notions. 
Carpenter  replied: 

WM.  E.  CRAMER,  Editor  Evening  Wisconsin: 

My  attention  has  been  called  to  your  paper  containing  a  libel  upon  me, 
over  a  fictitious  name,  and  an  editorial  in  which  you  express  a  desire  to 
hear  from  me  on  this  p  >int.  I  should  take  no  notice  of  the  libel,  but  that 
you,  who  are  a  gentleman  and  my  friend,  call  on  me  to  respond. 

I  answer  you,  the  charge  that  my  letter  to  Mr.  Kutchin  was  ante-dated  is 
utterly  false;  and  any  one  who  makes  the  charge  is  either  strangely  mis 
led,  or  intentionally  untruthful. 

MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 

P.  S. —  Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  seen  youf  paper  saying  that 
George  W  Allen  is  the  author  of  this  libel.  Responsibility  having  been 
fixed  upon  him,  I  may  be  justified  in  not  only  denying  his  charge,  but  dis 
proving  the  pretended  statement  of  facts  by  which  he  seeks  to  support  his 
charge. 

i.  He  says:  "All  last  summer  and  fall,  the  people  of  this  state  were 
anxious  to  know  Mr.  Carpenter's  position,  and  could  not  get  it"  by  which,  I 
suppose,  he  means  to  say,  ascertain  my  opinions,  instead  of  could  not  get 
my  position. 

I  reply,  Mr.  Kutchin  is  the  only  man,  so  far  as  I  remember,  who  wrote 
me  on  the  subject,  and  the  letter  in  question  was  written  in  reply  to  him. 

Mr.  Allen  published  a  letter  last  summer,  in  which  he  refused  to  be  a 
senator;  and  then,  as  though  the  hearts  of  the  people  were  not  sufficiently 
wounded  by  the  announcement,  proceeded  to  torture  them  further  by  lay 
ing  down  his  platform  to  show  what  an  excellent  senator  he  would  make 
if  he  would  but  consent  to  accept  the  place.  I  did  not  feel  called  upon  to 
follow  this  example,  because  I  did  not  suppose  the  people  cared  about  the 
views  of  any  private  individual  upon  any  public  question;  and  sensible 


RESPECTS   TO   MR.  ALLEN.  325 

men  might  have  made  as  much  fun  over  my  doing  so  as  they  did  over  his 
performance. 

2.  He  says,  speaking  of  my  letter,  that  there  was  full  authority  to  use  it. 
If  he  means  authority  to  publish  the  letter,  the  statement  is  untrue,  as  the 
letter  itself  shows. 

3.  Again  Mr.  Allen  says:  "Take  the  further  fact  that  among  his  five 
years  in  the  senate,  he  voted  for  all  inflation  bills  and  all  inflation  amend 
ments,  from  the  least  to  the  most,     *     *    *     and  when  he  returned  here  a 
few  days  before  the  election,  and  made  a  few  brief  speeches  in  this  city,  he 
avoided  all  reference  to  finance  until  he  -was  questioned  on  the  finance  mat 
ter;  and  then  skillfully  avoided  committing  himself." 

This  is  a  tissue  of  falsehoods  in  letter  and  in  spirit. 

(A)  I  never  voted  in  the  six  (instead  of  five)  years  I  was  in  the  senate 
in  favor  of  any  financial  measure  which  I  believed  would  inflate  the  cur 
rency;  nor,  as  I  believe,  otherwise  than  with  the  majority  of  republican 
senators  upon  any  financial  measure  save  in  one  instance.  I  voted  against 
one  bill  which  declared  that  it  was  the  intention  of  congress  in  issuing 
government  bonds  to  pay  them  in  coin;  and  I  so  voted,  as  my  remarks  in 
the  senate  at  that  time  will  show  —  eleven  days  after  I  took  my  seat  in  the 
senate,  —  because  I  thought  there  was  no  question  that,  under  the  acts  author 
izing  the  issue  of  bonds,  they  were  payable  in  coin;  but  that  the  bill  under 
consideration  would  do  more  harm  than  good;  because,  if  we  could  then, 
years  after  the  bonds  had  been  on  the  market,  declare  what  had  been  the 
intention  of  congress  in  issuing  the  bonds,  the  democrats,  if  they  should 
ever  get  into  power,  could  repeal  our  act  and  declare  exactly  the  reverse ; 
while  the  acts  under  which  the  bonds  were  issued  formed  a  part  of  the 
bonds  and  could  not  be  changed  by  subsequent  legislation.  I  agreed  with 
the  republican  senators  that  the  bonds  must  be  paid  in  coin ;  but,  as  a  law 
yer,  differed  from  them  as  to  the  effects  of  the  then  pending  bill. 

Mr.  Allen,  in  his  second  letter,  further  charges:  "For  the  six  years  Mr. 
Carpenter  was  in  the  senate  he  made  no  speech,  he  uttered  no  word,  and 
he  gave  no  vote  except  in  favor  of  inflation,  against  resumption  and  a  return 
to  a  redeemable  paper  currency." 

The  reckless  character  of  Mr.  Allen's  assertions,  and  the  utter  untruth 
of  his  charges,  may  well  be  tested  upon  this  point.  He  says  that  during 
my  whole  term  in  the  senate  /  voted  against  resumption  and  a  return  to  a 
redeemable  paper  currency.  Let  us  see  how  truthful  he  is: 

The  bill  providing  for  "resumption  and  a  return  to  a  redeemable  paper 
currency,"  or  in  other  words,  specie  payments,  was  passed  in  the  senate 
December  22,  1875.  Whoever  will  turn  to  the  Congressional  Record,  vol. 
3,  part  i,  pp.  188-208,  will  find  tJiat  I  voted  against  every  amendment  of' 
fered  to  the  bill,  and  voted  for  the  bill  on  its  final  passage. 

If  aoy  one  after  this  charge,  in  the  very  face  of  the  truth  and  the  record, 


326  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

can  place  any  confidence  in  Mr.  Allen's  charges,  I  commend  him  for  his 
credulity,  but  must  question  his  discrimination. 

(B)  On  the  6th  of  August,  only  five  days  after  my  letter  to  Mr.  Kutchin, 

1  authorized  the  publication  in  the  Chicago  Times  of  an  interview  1  of  the 
Washington  correspondent  of  that  paper  with  me,  in  which   I   declared  I 
was  in  full  fellowship  with  the  republican  party  —  its  doctrines  and  meas 
ures.     When  I  said  that,  I   meant,  as   I   supposed  every  one  would  under 
stand,  that  I  was  in  favor  of  the  principles  and  measures  of  the  republican 
party.     I  did  not  proceed  to  enumerate  those  measures,  but  everybody  well 
knew  that  the  hard-money  theory  was  then  one  of  the  cardinal  principles 
of  the  republican  party. 

Shortly  afterwards,  in  reply  to  unfriendly  criticism  in  the  Chicago 
Tribune,  I  published  a  letter  defying  it  to  point  to  a  single  act  or  word  of 
mine  disloyal  to  the  republican  party  since  I  joined  it. 

Indeed,  I  have  never  understood  that  my  republicanism  was  really 
doubted ;  but  that  the  charge  that  I  was  not  a  republican  was  deemed  by 
other  candidates  essential  to  their  success.  My  friends  in  Milwaukee  did 
not  question  my  political  integrity,  or  they  would  not  have  requested  me  to 
become  the  republican  candidate  for  congress  as  they  did  by  a  telegram  * 
dated  October  i,  1878,  long  before  the  publication  of  the  letter  to  Mr. 
Kutchin. 

(C)  Just  before  the  November  election,  I  came  home  and  entered  into 
the  canvass  in   Milwaukee,  and  discussed  the  financial  question  in  every 
speech  I  made;  and  declared  everywhere  for  honest  money  and  resumption 
of  specie  payments.     Still  Mr.  Allen  falsely  declares  I  avoided  all  reference 
to  finance  until  I  was  questioned  upon  the  subject;  and  that,  after  being 
questioned,  I  skillfully  avoided  committing  myself.     A  greater  misstate- 
ment  never  crept  into  print.     In  the  first  speech  I  made  —  though  no  one 
put  a  question  to  me, —  I  advocated   the  hard-money   theory  as  clearly  and 
unequivocally  as  my  command  of  language  enabled  me  to  do.     In  a  subse 
quent  meeting  in  the  Third  ward,  where  I  went  to  speak  for  five  minutes, 
having  another  appointment  for  the  same  evening,  where  I  was  expected 
to  make  a  longer  speech,  I  touched  upon  the  financial  question  very  plainly 

l  See  page    316. 

2  HON.  MATT.  H.  CARPENTER,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. : 

Your  friends  in  this  city  ask  you  to  place  yourself  in  their  hands  for 
nomination  for  member  of  congress  in  this  district  *  *  *  We  ask  you 
to  make  this  sacrifice  for  the  benefit  of  the  party. 

Edward  Sanderson,        C.  M.  Sanger,  Henry  Fink, 

I.  W.  Van  Schaick,        John  Thorsen,  I.  M.  Bean, 

D.  Vance,  N.  A.  Gray,  Geo.  Paschen, 

Edwin  Hyde,  Lem.  Ellsworth,  H.  Ludington, 

James  Johnson,  William  Kennedy,  and  many  others. 


RESPECTS   TO   MR.    ALLEN.  327 

but  very  briefly ;  as  I  was  concluding,  Dr.  Johnson  requested  me  to  speak 
more  fully  upon  the  financial  question.  I  then  continued  upon  that  subject 
at  some  length;  not  going  into  forty  pages  of  figures  and  statistics  to  empty 
benches^  as  Mr.  Allen  would  have  done  —  for  it  is  well  known  that  during 
the  last  campaign  Mr.  Allen  made  the  largest  figures  to  the  smallest  assem 
blies  of  any  man  who.  ever  stumped  Wisconsin, —  but  dealing  with  the 
subject  with  perfect  plainness.  At  my  conclusion,  before  leaving  the 
stand,  I  asked  Dr.  Johnson,  who  is  a  hard-money  republican,  if  he  was 
satisfied;  and,  in  full  hearing  of  the  meeting,  he  declared  he  was. 

At  another  meeting  I  was  interrupted  by  a  gentleman  who  was  in  favor 
of  what  is  called  soft  money;  not  to  call  me  out,  but  in  opposition  to  what 
I  had  said.  I  answered  all  his  questions  and  continued  advocating  the  hard- 
money  theory.  But  Dr.  Johnson  was  the  only  man  who  interrupted  me 
to  call  me  out;  and  that  was,  as  I  have  said,  after  I  had  in  one  or  more 
speeches,  certainly  one  speech,  plainly  advocated  the  hard-money  theory. 

4.  Again,  Mr.  Allen  says:  "He  only  made  two  declarations  —  one,  that 
when  a  bond  was  drawn  payable  in  gold  it  should  be  payable  in  gold.    Who- 
disputed  this  ?  Second,  that  he  stood  squarely  upon  the  republican  platform  — 
which  platform  or  what  platform  he  avoided  saying.      The  last  platform 
made  by  the  republican  party  of  this  state  was  in  the  convention  of  1877, 
and  it  was  more  soft  than  hard,"  etc.,  and  that  no  honest-money  republican 
ever  siood  upon  it. 

This  charge  is  against  the  republican  party,  not  me,  as  I  did  not  draw  that 
platform,  nor  was  I  consulted  about  it.  The  platform  to  which  I  referred 
in  my  speeches  was  the  platform  adopted  at  the  last  presidential  conven 
tion. 

But  it  is  false  that  I  only  declared  myselt  a  republican  standing  on  its 
platform.  I  declared  myself  in  favor  01  honest  money,  and  my  belief  that 
upon  no  other  basis  could  the  permanent  prosperity  ot  any  nation  rest. 

5.  Mr.  Allen  declares  that  The  Commonwealth  did  not  say  a  word,  while 
the  people  were  anxious,  etc.     I   think   Mr.  Allen  is  mistaken  in  this.     My 
recollection  is  that  within  a  few  days  after  my  letter  of  August  ist  to  Mr. 
Kutchin,  The   Commonwealth  did  declare  that  I  was  a  staunch    republican 
and  sound  on  the  financial  question;  and,  unless  I  am  greatly  mistaken,  it 
had  done  so  even  before  that.     Mr.  Kutchin  did  not  write  me  because  he 
entertained  any  doubt  as  to  my  status,  but  he  thought  I   ought  to  publish 
some  statement  denying  the  charge  which  my  enemies  were  making  on  the 
subject;  and   I   did   not  think  so,  because  I  did  not  see,  as   I  wrote  to  him, 
why,  after  my  past  political   record,  anybody,  unless  an  enemy,  would  re 
quire  me  to  enter  into  bonds  to  keep  the  peace.     Mr.  Allen  says,  "how easy 
it  was  for  him  to  have  said  that  he  was  in  favor  of  an  honest  redeemable 
money,  and  in  javor  of  the  present  resumption  law.     That  would  have  cov 
ered  it  all." 

In  point  of  fact,  I  did  declare  over  and  again  that  I  was  in  favor  of  hon- 


328  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

«st  redeemable  money ;  and  I  have  shown  /  voted  for  "  the  present  resump 
tion  laiu" 

I  have  shown  that  Mr.  Allen  is  guilty  of  having  published  a  libel  upon  a 
neighbor,  and  attempting  to  support  it  by  a  pretended  statement  of  facts 
equally  false.  J  will  leave  him  to  such  repose  as  a  libeler  can  expect. 

MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 

ON  THE  STUMP. 

As  the  day  of  election  drew  near,  Carpenter  returned  to 
Wisconsin  and  delivered  a  number  of  campaign  addresses. 
He  gave  his  attention  particularly  to  Milwaukee,  speaking  in 
every  ward  of  the  city.  He  was  received  with  enthusiasm 
and  greeted  by  swarms  of  hearers.  In  the  populous  Third 
ward,  in  which  the  voters  are  mostly  Irish  and  democrats, 
he  was  met  with  demonstrations  that  were  little  short  of 
terrific.  A  newspaper  description  of  the  great  meeting 
said:  "  Matt.  H.  Carpenter  ascended  the  rostrum  in  the  midst 
of  regular  Indian  yells."  His  influence  in  Milwaukee  was 
marked.  Although  a  democratic  stronghold,  the  republicans 
elected  ten  of  its  fourteen  members  of  the  legislature.  These 
ten  at  once  issued  a  brief  card  to  the  members-elect  through 
out  the  state,  declaring  their  intention  to  support  Carpenter 
and  asking  co-operation. 

When  the  election  returns  had  been  fully  straightened,  it 
appeared  that  eighty-eight  republicans  had  been  chosen,  of 
whom  twenty-five  were  outspoken  for  Carpenter. 

THE  EVE  OF  BATTLE. 

The  legislature  convened  on  Wednesday,  January  9,  1879, 
with  the  hotels,  boarding-houses  and  many  private  residences 
crowded  with  lobbyists.  Hundreds  of  influential  men  from 
Milwaukee,  Rock,  Fond  du  Lac  and  other  populous  counties 
were  present  in  the  interest  of  Carpenter,  who  was  absent 
attending  to  important  law  cases  in  New  York  and  Wash 
ington.  The  rumors  in  circulation  that  the  Keyes  and  Howe 
forces  would  in  some  manner  unite,  caused  the  supporters  of 
Carpenter  no  small  amount  of  disquietude,  and  on  the  fol- 


THE   EVE   OF   BATTLE.  329 

lowing  Monday  evening,  in  response  to  urgent  telegrams,  he 
appeared  on  the  scene  m  -propria  persona,  when  hope  and  en 
thusiasm  went  up  with  a  bound. 

The  republican  caucus  was  held  on  the  evening  of  January 
lyth.  Senator  Hamilton  Richardson,  of  Rock  county,  pre 
sented  Carpenter,  seconded  by  Assemblyman  E.  B.  Simpson, 
of  Milwaukee.  The  first  formal  ballot  brought  this  result: 
E.  W.  Keyes  twenty-eight ;  T.  O.  Howe  twenty-five ;  Matt. 
H.  Carpenter  twenty-four;  Philetus  Sawyer  five;  Horace 
Rublee  five;  John  H.  Tweedy  one;  total  eighty-eight.  On 
the  next  ballot  Carpenter  received  twenty-six  votes  —  the 
full  number  of  his  first-choice  supporters.  A  dozen  ballots 
were  taken  before  adjournment  without  any  material  change. 
On  the  following  day  fifteen  ballots  were  recorded,  and  when 
adjournment  for  Sunday  took  place  late  on  Saturday  evening, 
the  number  of  ballotings  had  reached  forty-nine,  the  last 
standing,  Carpenter  twenty-eight;  Keyes  thirty-one;  Howe 
twenty-six.  Before  dispersing  to  their  homes  for  Sunday, 
Carpenter's  supporters  entered  into  a  pact  declaring  they 
would  "  vote  for  no  man  but  Matt."  for  senator.1 

On  Monday  the  caucus  re-assembled,  and  before  adjourn 
ment  the  number  of  ballotings  reached  seventy-nine,  the 
vote  for  Carpenter  fluctuating  between  twenty-six  and  twenty- 

IThis  letter  from  one  of  the  "solid  twenty-five  "  shows  how  it  was  done: 

FOND  DU  LAC,  Wis.,  June  23,  1883. 

There  was  no  written  compact  or  document  by  which  Matt.'s  supporters 
bound  themselves.  The  plan  was  simply  this:  Alter  each  session  of  the 
republican  legislative  caucus  we  held  a  Carpenter  caucus.  Before  adjourn 
ing  we  passed  a  resolution  by  a  rising  vote,  unanimously,  that  we  would 
not  waver  or  change  until  the  next  meeting  of  the  Carpenter  caucus.  After 
what  proved  to  be  our  last  "  Carpenter  "  caucus  (the  day  before  his  nomi 
nation),  it  was  quietly  determined  by  the  leading  spirits  of  the  Carpenter 
column  to  call  no  more  caucuses,  and  let  the  last  one  stand  as  adjourned 
sine  die,  thus  leaving  the  pledge  perpetual.  This  arrangement  was  made 
on  account  of  one  of  the  members  objecting  to  an  unlimited  pledge.  The 
scheme  for  a  perpetual  pledge  came  from  Coleman,  Sanderson  and  Matt.'s 
coterie  of  friends  outside.  The  modification  to  a  daily  pledge  was  at  my 
suggestion.  The  adjournment  sine  die  was  originated  by  Senator  Andrews, 
the  chairman  of  our  caucus.  S.  * 


330  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

nine.  When  the  caucus  met  next  day  the  ballotings  con 
tinued  without  change  until  the  ninetieth,  when  the  announce 
ment  of  thirty-five  for  Carpenter  produced  a  decided  ripple 
of  excitement.  The  five  subsequent  trials  bore  a  similar 
result.  Then  it  became  apparent  to  the  cohorts  of  Howe 
and  Keyes  that  the  tide  had  at  last  turned  away  from  them, 
and  that  unless  an  adjournment  could  be  had,  Carpenter 
would  soon  secure  a  majority.  They  therefore  united  and 
adjourned  until  the  succeeding  morning.  The  three  contend 
ing  factions  then  held  secret  consultations,  when  Keyes  de 
cided  to  withdraw.  This  news  spread  like  a  prairie  fire  and 
was  received  everywhere  with  rejoicing.  The  ceaseless 
struggling  and  intense  excitement  of  the  preceding  fortnight 
had  so  completely  exhausted  everybody  that  a  settlement 
of  any  kind  would  have  been  received  with  feelings  of  relief 
if  not  of  pleasure. 

VICTORY. 

The  break-up,  everybody  knew,  meant  the  election  of 
Carpenter,  and  until  far  after  midnight  he  stood  in  his  apart 
ments  receiving  the  congratulations  of  his  friends  and  admir 
ers.  The  campaign  had  been  a  gallant  one,  and  conducted 
with  consummate  shrewdness.  Carpenter  was  everywhere 
present,  never  mentioning  the  senatorship,  but  winning  friends 
by  that  magical  fascination  he  exerted  over  all  who  came  in 
contact  with  him.  No  unfriendly  feeling  was  engendered 
by  his  supporters  among  opponents,  but  cordial,  courteous 
treatment  was  extended  to  all,  thus  making  friends  of  them, 
while  the  "  solid  twenty-five "  settled  down  complacently 
but  doggedly  to  "  stand  by  Matt,  to  the  last." 

On  the  morning  of  January  23d,  at  nine  o'clock,  the  caucus 
convened  for  the  last  time.  Senator  Geo.  B.  Burrows  in  a 
spirited  speech  for  his  leader,  withdrew  the  name  of  E.  W. 
Keyes,  and,  in  accordance  with  instructions  from  Keyes, 
moved  that  Carpenter  be  nominated  by  acclamation.  Sen 
ator  D.  M.  Kelly  then  formally  announced  the  withdrawal  of 


THE   PEOPLE   REJOICE.  331 

T.  O.  Howe,  whereupon,  in  the  midst  of  vociferous  huzzas, 
upon  the  motion  of  Burrows,  Carpenter  was  nominated 
without  a  dissenting  vote. 

At  twelve  o'clock  of  the  same  day  the  joint  convention  of 
the  two  houses  met,  as  required  by  the  federal  statutes,  and 
proceeded  to  vote  for  a  person  to  succeed  Mr.  Howe  in  the 
United  States  senate  six  years,  from  March  4,  1879.  T^6 
ballot  resulted  in  eighty-four l  for  Carpenter,  twenty-eight  for 
Chief  Justice  Edward  G.  Ryan,  his  old-time  partner,  and 
thirteen  for  Gabriel  Bouck.  The  assembly  chamber  was 
crowded  to  its  utmost  when  the  result  was  announced.  The 
multitude  had  gathered  expecting  a  speech  from  the  success 
ful  candidate.  Within  a  few  moments  after  the  formalities 
had  been  finished,  the  committee  appointed  by  the  president 
of  the  senate  for  that  purpose  appeared  in  escort  of  Carpen 
ter.  When  the  tumult  had  subsided,  half-choked  by  emo 
tion,  he  made  a  brief  speech,  ending  thus: 

My  heart  is  full  of  gratitude  to  the  legislature  of  Wisconsin  for  this 
honor.  Following,  as  it  does,  upon  some  unfortunate  circumstances  in  my 
past  history,  I  appreciate  it  all  the  more,  and  I  thank  you  all  the  more  sin 
cerely.  And  in  accepting  this  trust  from  the  legislature  of  Wisconsin,  I 
can  truthfully  say  I  shall  be  willing  to  lay  it  down  at  any  time  when  the 
legislature  of  Wisconsin  say  I  have  forfeited  or  disregarded  it 

THE  PEOPLE  REJOICE. 

The  news  of  Carpenter's  election  was  received  with 
demonstrations  of  satisfaction  in  every  city,  hamlet  and  com 
munity  in  the  commonwealth,  and  met  with  approbation 
throughout  the  Union,  several  state  legislatures  —  an  extra 
ordinary  proceeding  —  adopting  resolutions  congratulating 
Wisconsin  on  her  choice.  Telegrams  of  congratulation 
poured  in  from  Washington,  New  York  and  almost  every 
city  of  note  in  the  republic.  Among  them,  and  which  moved 
him  more  deeply  than  all  others,  was  one  from  his  son  Paul, 
then  aged  ten  years,  in  these  words :  "Dear,  splendid  Papa  : 
Mamma  and  I  send  love  and  congatulntions." 

1  Four  republicans  were  unavoidably  absent. 


332  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

On  the  day  following  his  election  Carpenter  proceeded 
homeward  by  a  special  train,  his  friends  and  supporters 
crowding  the  coaches.  At  Milwaukee  a  public  meeting  had 
already  been  held,  and  numerous  committees  of  the  foremost 
citizens  formed  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  an  elaborate 
programme  of  reception.  Ex-Governor  Harrison  Luding- 
ton  was  chosen  president,  and  sub-committees  of  distin 
guished  men  were  appointed  for  each  of  the  several  wards 
of  the  city,  the  chamber  of  commerce  and  other  associations. 
These  individuals  united  in  an  eloquent  telegram  of  congrat 
ulation,  and  informed  Carpenter  that  he  would  find  a  mass- 
meeting  of  his  friends  in  the  Academy  of  Music  on  the 
succeeding  evening. 

The  magnificent  demonstration  that  greeted  him  on  arriving 
in  Milwaukee  was  well  worth  the  efforts  of  a  life-time.  A 
multitude  had  assembled  at  the  depot.  As  he  issued  from 
the  car,  cheer  upon  cheer  rent  the  air.  The  band  struck  up, 
"  See,  the  Conquering  Hero  Comes,"  and  Carpenter  literally 
waded  through  the  crowd,  shaking  hands  right  and  left,  to 
the  vehicle  containing  his  wife  and  children.  He  was  given 
a  seat  in  an  elegant  sleigh  drawn  by  four  white  chargers, 
preceded  by  the  officers  of  the  day,  drawn  by  a  team  of 
six  matched  horses.  A  long  procession  of  vehicles  and  peo 
ple  on  foot  formed  and  marched  to  the  chamber  of  com 
merce.  All  the  great  business  blocks,  banks  and  the 
shipping  in  the  harbor  were  decorated  with  flags,  and  the 
streets  were  lined  with  shouting  multitudes.  Having  arrived 
at  the  chamber,  President  Charles  Ray  welcomed  the  hero 
of  the  occasion,  who,  with  tears  of  gratitude  in  his  eyes, 
responded: 

There  are  times  when  a  man  is  not  in  condition  to  speak.  My  heart  is 
now  too  full  of  gratitude  to  the  people  of  Milwaukee  to  permit  me  to  ex 
press  the  sentiments  I  feel.  In  all  the  years  I  have  lived  here  I  have  re- 
ceived  nothing  but  kindness.  My  mistakes  have  all  been  forgiven  and  the 
people  of  Milwaukee  have  stood  by  me  like  friends.  I  go  now  to  represent 
you  to  the  best  of  my  ability  in  the  senate  of  the  United  States.  *  *  * 
Having  reached  specie  resumption  we  have  but  one  important  mission 


WELCOMED  BACK  TO   WASHINGTON.  333 

pressing  us.  We  must  heal  our  sectional  differences.  The  states  of  the 
south  are  expected  to  carry  out  all  the  amendments  to  the  constitution. 
We  can  not  throw  away  the  fruits  of  our  fearful  war.  All  men,  without  re 
gard  to  color,  condition  or  nationality,  should  be  equal  and  protected  before 
the  law,  and  must  have  the  right  of  suffrage.  That  means  something  more 
than  putting  a  ballot  into  a  box  —that  ballot  must  be  counted.  Congress 
has  the  power,  and  it  is  a  duty,  to  legislate  so  as  to  protect  every  citizen  in 
the  south  in  the  full  and  free  exercise  of  his  constitutional  rights,  and  to 
protect  every  northern  man  who  goes  south  in  the  interest  of  business  or  in 
the  pursuit  of  heal! h.  *  *  *  God  has  laid  upon  this  people  great  re 
sponsibilities  and  the  power  to  meet  them,  but  they  will  never  be  fully  met 
until  every  colored  man  is  as  free  as  any  white  man.  In  performing  this 
duty  I  have  nothing  to  fear.  A  greater  nation  than  this  does  not  exist 
We  have  but  to  secure  equal  rights  to  all  men  to  be  what  God  intended  — 
to  be  a  leader  and  a  shedder  of  light  for  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

This  brief  speech  was  greeted,  sentence  by  sentence,  with 
the  loudest  applause.  Three  rousing  cheers  were  given  for  the 
"  solid  twenty-five,  the  old  guard  —  that  may  die  but  never 
surrenders."  Carpenter  was  then  escorted  home  by  the  band 
and  a  large  number  of  citizens.  In  the  evening  the  regular 
mass-meeting  for  congratulation  was  held  in  the  Academy  of 
Music.  It  was  a  perfect  crush,  at  which  General  Harrison 
C.  Hobart  gave  voice  to  the  city's  welcome.  Carpenter,  in 
response,  delivered  a  popular  rather  than  an  argumentative 
or  profound  speech,  occupying  about  an  hour.  The  crowds 
that  came  out  on  this  occasion  did  not  constitute  his  fair- 
weather  friends,  for  they  were  all  present  to  extend  a  royal 
welcome  when,  four  years  before,  he  returned  in  a  winter 
hurricane,  cloaked  with  the  bitterness  and  desolation  of  defeat. 

WELCOMED  BACK  TO  WASHINGTON. 

After  a  very  brief  period  of  rest,  Carpenter  proceeded  to 
Washington,  where  he  arrived  on  Thursday,  January  3Oth. 
There  the  proceedings  for  extending  a  welcome  were  hardly 
less  elaborate  and  spirited  than  they  had  been  at  Milwaukee. 
A  committee  of  distinguished  persons,  according  to  arrange 
ments  previously  perfected,  waited  on  him  at  the  depot  and 
escorted  him  to  Willard's  Hotel.  There  he  found,  to  his 


334  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

astonishment,  the  street,  brilliant  with  pyrotechnics  and  cal 
cium  lights,  entirely  blockaded  with  an  enthusiastic  assem 
blage.  As  he  drew  up  to  the  hotel,  loud  huzzas  and  the 
firing  of  cannon,  followed  by  the  strains  of  "Hail  to  the 
Chief  "  by  the  Marine  band,  greeted  him  like  the  shouts  of  a 
victorious  army.  The  addresses  of  welcome  were  delivered 
by  General  Halbert  E.  Paine  and  Public  Printer  A.  M. 
Clapp.  Carpenter  replied: 

I  have  no  language  in  which  to  thank  you  for  this  reception  and  cordial 
greeting  back  to  Washington.  I  know,  however,  that  it  is  not  a  personal 
tribute  to  me.  You  come  here  to  testify  your  sympathy  for  and  firm  sup 
port  of  those  principles  which  }'ou  believe,  and  which  I  will  support  with* 
my  voice  and  vote  to  the  utmost  of  my  ability.  We  are  all  republicans  — 
republicans,  because  we  believe  the  destiny  of  this  country  rests  in  the 
keeping  of  that  party.  My  own  election  in  Wisconsin  was  no  tribute  to 
my  personal  qualities.  Still  less  was  it  a  reflection  on  the  popularity  of 
him  whom  I  was  elected  to  succeed.  It  was  because  four  years  ago  there 
had  been  committed  a  wrong,  not  a  wrong  against  me,  but  a  wrong  done 
to  the  organization  of  the  republican  party;  for,  unless  our  party  will  stand 
by  its  banner,  and  sustain  its  nominees,  there  is  an  end  of  party,  and  the 
end  of  our  party  would  be  the  end  of  the  greatest  and  brightest  hopes  this 
country  enjoys  to-day. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  ceremonies,  he  retired  to  the 
parlors  of  the  hotel,  where,  surrounded  by  a  profusion  of 
flowers,  he  stood  for  an  hour  or  more  "  shaking  hands  like  a 
President." 

GENUINE  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  Carpenter  characterized  the 
"  civil  service  reform  "  as  formulated  by  Joseph  Medill  and 
others,  concocted  and  tested  during  President  Grant's  last 
term,  as  "  a  humbug,"  and  "  a  gilt-edge  vagary."  He  voted 
and  spoke  against  the  measure,  predicting  it  would  prove  a 
failure.  The  prediction  was  fully  verified.  Although  some 
severe  criticisms  arose  against  him  for  this  position,  time 
proved  not  only  that  his  views  of  the  matter  were  correct 
when  it  came  to  actual  practice,  but  that  he  was,  in  fact,  the 


GENUINE   C1V11.   SERVICE   REFORM.  335 

best  civil  service  reformer  of  them  all.     Before  leaving  for 
Washington,  he  wrote  the  following  card: 

MILWAUKEE,  Wis.,  Jan.  25,  1879. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Sentinel: 

I  have  received  so  many  hundreds  of  letters  of  congratulation  within  the 
last  three  days  that  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  answer  them.  Therefore,  allow 
me  to  say  through  your  columns  to  all  my  friends,  that  I  thank  them  for  their 
sympathy  and  friendship ;  and  it  will  be  my  chief  ambition  to  prove  myself 
worthy  of  such  friends. 

I  infer  from  letters  I  have  received  there  is  a  wide-spread  expectation 
that  I  will  make  war  upon  federal  office-holders  appointed  on  the  recom 
mendation  o£.  Senator  Howe.  I  wish  to  correct  this  impression  at  the 
threshold.  Whatever  influence  over  appointments  is  given  to  a  United 
States  senator  is  intended  to  be  exercised  for  the  benefit  of  the  public 
service,  and  not  for  his  personal  advantage.  The  tenure  of  office  should  not 
depend  upon  the  personal  relations  between  the  appointing  and  advising 
power  and  the  official,  but  upon  the  efficiency  with  which  he  meets  the 
requirements  of  the  service.  No  office-holder  appointed  at  the  instance  of 
Senator  Howe  need  fear  anything  from  me  as  long  as  he  discharges  the 
duties  of  his  position  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  people. 

MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 

The  usual  custom  of  politicians  is  to  promulgate  pledges 
of  such  sort  while  they  are  desiring  and  seeking  an  election  to 
office,  not  after  they  have  secured  it.  But  this  promise,  made 
when  there  was  no  necessity  for  it,  except  to  set  forth  his 
theory  of  a  genuine  civil  service  reform,  was  sacredly  kept 
until  death. 


33^  LIFE   OF  CARPENTER. 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  SENATE. 

To  the  general  public  the  most  conspicuous  feature  of 
Carpenter's  whole  life  is  his  career  in  the  senate  of  the 
United  States,  although  the  sum  of  all  that  he  did  in  that  body 
did  not  equal  his  matchless  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  Union 
during  the  Rebellion  nor  those  unrivaled  forensic  arguments 
which  alone,  Justice  Bradley  has  said,  "  should  ma"ke  him  im 
mortal."  This  is  because  all  his  sayings  and  doings  in  the 
senate  were  recorded  in  the  Congressional  Record  and  fully 
reported  and  discussed  in  the  daily  newspapers,  thus  becom 
ing  familiar  to  the  people. 

Carpenter  was  sworn  in  at  noon,  March  4,  1869,  and  chose 
seat  forty-two  in  the  senate  chamber,  on  the  Vice-President's 
left.  He  had  on  his  right  Reuben  E.  Fenton,  of  New  York, 
and  on  his  left  Abijah  Gilbert,  of  Florida.  Nineteen  other 
senators-elect  were  sworn  at  that  time,  among  whom  were 
Thomas  F.  Bayard,  Zachariah  Chandler,  George  F.  Ed 
munds,  Hannibal  Hamlin,  Carl  Schurz,  Allen  G.  Thurman, 
Charles  Sumner,  William  Sprague,  Alexander  Ramsey  and 
Reuben  E.  Fenton.  When,  upon  the  motion  of  Senator 
Anthony,  of  Rhode  Island,  the  standing  committees  were 
formed,  Carpenter  appeared  in  those  on  judiciary,  on  patents, 
and  on  revision  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States  —  all  impor 
tant.  His  companions  were  such  men  as  Conkling,  Thur 
man,  Bayard,  Ferry,  Edmunds,  Sumner  and  Trumbull. 

MAIDEN  EFFORTS. 

On  the  loth  day  of  March,  Carpenter,  by  request,  arose  and 
introduced  his  first  bill  —  "  No.  96,  S.  A  bill  to  provide  for 
holding  the  courts  of  the  United  States  in  case  of  the  sick 
ness  or  other  disability  of  the  judges  of  the  district  courts." 
On  the  same  day  he  introduced  his  first  resolution  —  "  S.  R. 


HIS    FIRST   SPEECH.  337 

No.  15.  A  joint  resolution  giving  construction  to  the  acts  of 
congress  granting  lands  to  the  state  of  Wisconsin  to  aid  in 
building  a  railroad." 

HIS  FIRST  SPEECH 

His  first  speech  was  one  of  five  minutes,  explaining  why 
he  should  vote  against  the  measure  entitled  "a  bill  to 
strengthen  the  public  credit."  This  act,  which  became  a  law 
March  18,  1869,  declared  that  "the  faith  of  the  United  States 
is  solemnly  pledged  to  the  payment  in  coin  or  its  equivalent 
of  all  the  obligations  of  the  United  States  not  bearing  inter 
est,  known  as  United  States  notes,  and  of  all  the  interest- 
bearing  obligations  of  the  United  States,  except  in  cases 
where  the  law  authorizing  the  issue  of  any  such  obligation 
has  expressly  provided  that  the  same  may  be  paid  in  lawful 
money  or  other  currency  than  gold  and  silver."  Carpenter 
regarded  the  measure  as  a  superfluity,  if  not  an  exhibition 
of  weakness.  He  said: 

In  the  first  place  I  am  unwilling  to  admit  that  there  has  ever  been  a 
doubt  as  to  this  government  discharging  its  just  obligations,  unwilling  to 
admit  or  seem  to  admit  that  it  is  necessary  for  congress,  by  solemn  act,  to 
declare  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  are  honest.  I  believe  that  by 
a  fair  construction  of  the  acts  under  which  these  bonds  were  issued,  read 
in  the  light  of  the  circumstances  attending  the  negotiation  and  sale  of  the 
bonds,  the  public  faith  of  the  government  is  as  firmly  pledged  as  it  ever 
can  be  to  the  payment  of  these  bonds  in  coin.  The  passage  of  this  act 
may  provoke  a  future  congress  to  attempt  its  repeal,  and  such  repeal, 
merely  leaving  the  law  as  to  the  bonds  where  it  stands  at  present,  would 
harm  our  credit  more  than  the  passage  of  this  bill  would  help  it.  Again, 
if  we  resume  specie  payments  before  the  maturity  of  these  bonds,  as  I  trust 
we  shall,  the  difficulty  settles  itself. 

His  first  speech  of  any  considerable  length  was  delivered 
March  iyth,  on  B.  F.  Butler's  bill  to  repeal  the  tenure-of- 
office  act,  a  law  enacted  for  the  purpose  of  preventing 
Andrew  Johnson,  after  he  became  President  by  the  death  of 
Lincoln,  from  removing  all  the  republican  federal  officials  for 
political  reasons  alone,  and  appointing  in  their  stead,  during  a 
recess  of  the  senate,  persons  of  his  own  political  belief.  He 

22 


338  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

opposed  the  repeal  of  the  act  though  it  was  simply  a  law  de 
claring  the  President  should  not  disobey  the  constitution; 
but  other  senators  voted  against  him  because,  as  he  said,  "  an 
army  of  hungry  office-seekers  were  laying  siege  to  Wash 
ington,"  and  they  hoped  by  repealing  the  act  to  get  a  large  f 
share  of  this  army  into  comfortable  berths  during  a  recess  of  I 
the  senate  through  the  new  President,  Grant.  His  position 
was  so  manly  and  his  argument  so  clear  that  the  speech  at 
tracted  considerable  attention,  though  contrary  to  the  wishes 
of  President  Grant  and  his  cabinet.  The  act  was  not  fully 
repealed. 

A  SPECIAL  SESSION 

During  the  special  session  called  by  President  Grant  to 
convene  April  12,  1869,  Carpenter  introduced  a  resolution 
calling  on  the  various  departments  for  information  as  to  the 
number,  age,  compensation,  date  of  appointment  and  recom 
mendation  of  the  employes  thereof.  In  support  of  this  he 
said  that  congress  should  have  some  knowledge  about  the 
forty-five  thousand  clerks  employed  in  the  various  depart 
ments,  as  he  believed  that  if  the  number  were  reduced  fifty 
per  cent.,  and  the  work  and  the  pay  increased,  public  busi 
ness  would  be  expedited  and  public  expense  reduced.  He 
also  said,  "  men  are  charged  to  Wisconsin  in  the  official  reg 
isters  who  never  resided  in  the  state,  so  I  have  an  object  in 
offering  this  resolution  beyond  the  mere  curiosity  of  knowing 
how  many  employes  there  are  in  the  departments  and  who 
secured  their  appointment."  In  answer  to  a  question  upon  the 
matter,  Carpenter  said: 

In  moving  the  resolution  at  the  time  it  was  offered  I  had  a  double  object 
in  view.  One  looked  partially  to  the  subject  of  patronage  and  its  distribu 
tion  among  the  states;  and  I  suggest  that  that  is  not  a  totally  unimportant 
matter.  These  clerical  appointments  are  of  a  nature  the  duties  of  which 
may  be  performed  by  a  great  many  persons  in  all  the  states  who  have  been 
partially  disabled  from  performing  serious  and  laborious  toil  in  the  late  war. 
We  have  in  Wisconsin,  in  Illinois,  in  every  western  state,  our  full  quota  of 
persons  who  have  been  disabled,  and  so  far  disabled  that  they  are  incom- 


SO-CALLED   LOYAL   CLAIMANTS.  339 

petent  for  actual  business  or  labor,  but  nevertheless  could  perform  many  of 
the  clerical  duties  which  are  required  in  these  departments.  It  is  therefore 
no  more  than  just  and  fair  that  this  patronage  should  be  distributed  as 
equally  as  may  be  between  the  several  states. 

I  entirely  dissent  from  the  views  of  my  friend  from  Nevada  in  regard  to 
this  matter.  He  says  that  we  had  better  have  no  appointments  from  the 
states,  and  allow  the  departments  to  be  filled  altogether  from  the  District  of 
Columbia,  because  when  a  man  has  been  here  four  years  in  one  of  these 
positions  he  is  absolutely  ruined  and  disqualified  to  do  anything  else.  Sir, 
when  a  man  has  lived  so  long  in  Washington  that  he  can  not  do  anything 
else  but  perform  his  duties  at  a  desk  in  a  department,  he  is  no  longer  fit  to 
do  that.  The  argument  of  the  senator  from  Nevada  would  apply  ju»t  as 
strongly  to  congress  as  to  the  departments.  He  might  say  with  equal  force 
that  there  never  should  be  a  change  in  the  house  or  the  senate,  because 
when  a  man  had  been  here  four  years  or  six  years  he  was  out  of  business 
elsewhere,  and  might  just  as  well  be  ruined  the  rest  of  his  life  as  to  spoil  a 
fresh  man. 

Nearly  all  of  the  old  senators  opposed  the  resolution,  for 
the  reason  that  it  was  liable  to  furnish  altogether  too  much 
information  in  which  they  were  interested,  but  Carpenter 
carried  it  through  nevertheless. 

SO-CALLED  LOYAL  CLAIMANTS. 

A  resolution  was  introduced  in  the  house  providing  for  the 
payment  of  vessels  owned  in  the  loyal  states  but  seized  or 
destroyed  during  the  war  while  engaged  in  commerce  in  the 
disloyal  states.  It  passed  the  house,  and  seemed  likely  to 
pass  the  senate  also,  when  Carpenter,  as  the  inimitable  Sena 
tor  Nye  observed,  "rose  and  gave  it  a  very  black  eye," 
saying: 

It  is  impossible  to  discuss  any  question  which  grows  out  of  the  late  war 
without  meeting  in  the  face  this  fundamental  question :  What  was  the  legal 
character  and  nature  of  that  war?  If  it  was  a  mere  insurrection  of  individ 
uals,  then  we  could  pursue  them  only  in  the  forms  of  civil  remedy;  we 
could  arrest  no  man  without  affidavit;  we  could  search  no  man's  house 
•without  a  warrant;  we  could  hang  no  man  until  he  had  been  convicted ;  we 
could  shoot  no  man  except  a  deserter  from  the  army.  If,  on  the  contrary, 
the  state  of  things  was  public  war,  then  the  government  had  belligerent 
rights  toward  that  country  and  toward  all  its  people  and  toward  all  its 
property. 


340  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

This  question  came  before  the  several  departments  of  the  government  in 
the  early  years  of  the  war,  and  by  every  department  it  was  determined  to 
be  a  public  war,  and  the  government  was  asserted  to  have  the  rights  of  a 
belligerent  toward  that  people  and  all  their  possessions.  This  was  clearly 
decided  by  the  supreme  court  in  the  prize  case  at  the  December  term,  1862, 
if  I  remember  right.  There  it  was  held  that  the  war  had  assumed  such 
proportions  as  to  make  it  a  geographical  and  territorial  war,  and  that  every 
man  in  the  state  of  Virginia,  for  instance,  no  matter  whether  loyal  or  dis 
loyal  in  sentiment,  was  a  public  enemy  of  the  United  States.  If  that  be 
the  sound  theory  of  the  subject,  then  every  man,  woman  and  child  in  that 
state,  and  every  piece  of  property,  real  or  personal,  within  it,  was  at  the 
mercy  of  the  government  in  the  exercise  of  its  war  powers;  and  if  we 
took  horses  and  mules,  if  we  took  corn  and  beans  and  pork,  if  we  took  any 
thing  which  should  supply  our  wants  or  replenish  our  treasury,  we  did 
what  we  had  a  right  to  do,  and  doing  it  gives  no  foundation  for  a  claim 
against  the  treasury. 

Believing  this  to  be  the  true  theory  of  the  subject,  and  believing  that  the 
government  can  maintain  itself  before  the  people  and  the  world  upon  no 
other  theory,  I  shall  of  course  vote  against  every  proposition  to  pay  any 
man  for  anything  taken  by  military  orders  in  the  rebellious  districts. 

Carpenter's  further  theory  was,  that  if  the  vessels  were  in 
the  rebellious  districts,  they  were  there  for  the  purpose  of 
profiting  out  of  the  Rebellion,  and  their  owners,  therefore, 
could  not  be  loyal  in  spirit,  though  they  might,  as  was 
alleged,  live  in  the  loyal  states. 

RECONSTRUCTING    GEORGIA. 

In  the  second  session  of  the  forty-first  congress,  which 
convened  December  6,  1869,  and  which  was  long  and  stormy, 
Carpenter  took  a  leading  part  in  the  debates,  and  became  a 
conspicuous  and  popular  figure  before  the  country. 

At  the  opening  of  the  session  he  introduced  a  bill  increas 
ing  the  salary  of  the  chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court  to 
$12,000,  and  of  the  associate  justices  to  $10,000  each  per 
annum.  After  being  tumbled  about  for  several  months  the 
measure  was  indefinitely  postponed,  although  all  the  leading 
lawyers  in  the  country  favored  its  passage.  On  the  same 
day  Senator  Morton  presented  a  bill  "  to  promote  the  recon 
struction  of  Georgia."  Owing  to  the  great  attention  which 


RECONSTRUCTING   GEORGIA.  34! 

he  had  given  to  the  vital  question  of  reconstruction,  Carpen 
ter  was  requested  by  the  judiciary  committee  to  draft  a  sub 
stitute  for  Morton's  bill,  which,  after  a  lengthy  and  able 
debafe,  was  finally  passed.  It  provided  that  the  governor  of 
Georgia  should  summon  the  legislature  elected  June  25,  1868; 
that  the  members  so  elected  should  take  either  the  iron-clad 
oath  or  the  one  taken  by  those  whose  disabilities  had  been 
removed  by  section  three  of  the  fourteenth  amendment  to 
the  constitution;  that  no  member  should  be  refused  a  seat 
because  of  color;  that  any  person  attempting  by  force  l  or 
otherwise  to  prevent  any  person  so  elected  from  taking  the 
oath  or  performing  any  of  the  duties  of  his  office,  should  be 
punished  by  imprisonment  not  less  than  two  nor  more  than 
ten  years,  and  that  such  legislature  so  convened  should  pro 
ceed  to  reorganization  and  the  transaction  of  business.  Mor 
ton  offered  an  amendment  declaring  "  That  the  legislature 
shall  be  provisional  only,  and  until  after  it  has  ratified  the 
fourteenth  and  fifteenth  amendments  to  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  senators  and  representatives  in  congress 
from  the  state  of  Georgia  have  been  admitted  to  their  seats." 
In  opposing  this  amendment  Carpenter  said  he  thought  it 
was  an  unnecessary  measure,  as  every  one  knew  Georgia 
understood  the  terms  on  which  states  were  to  be  admitted. 
He  further  argued: 

I  think  the  amendment  is  pernicious  in  this  respect;  it  will  be  claimed 
hereafter,  and  will  be  the  subject  of  much  discussion,  that  these  southern 
states  have  not  voluntarily  ratified  that  amendment  of  the  constitution.  I 
do  not  say  that  that  claim  is  well  founded;  I  do  not  believe  it  is;  but  we 
shall  hear  it,  and  I  am  opposed  to  any  amendment  of  this  bill  which  shall  lead 
manifestly  to  the  discussion  of  these  troublesome  subjects  hereafter.  They 
•will  say  that  they  were  held  by  military  power;  they  will  say  that  congress 
dictated  to  them  the  terms  upon  which  they  were  to  come  into  the  Union; 
that  they  were  practically  and  substantially  in  duress,  and  are  not  bound  by 
the  vote  of  adoption  they  have  passed.  Now,  I  am  simply  objecting  to  this 
because  I  am  opposed  to  making  up  a  bill  of  exceptions  upon  which  some 
future  Jeff.  Davis  shall  move  for  a  new  trial.  9 

1  A  few  months  before,  the  colored  members  of  the  Georgia  legislature 
had  been  forcibly  compelled  to  abandon  their  seats. 


342  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

I  have  no  objection  to  the  doctrine  of  the  amendment.  I  will  never  vote 
in  my  place  to  admit  that  state  until  she  does  ratify  the  fifteenth  amendment, 
unless  I  experience  some  unexpected  change  of  mind  or  heart;  but  I  do 
not  see  the  necessity  of  our  announcing  in  advance  what  we  will  or  will 
not  do. 

Morton's  amendment  was  adopted  and  the  bill  was  passed, 
Carpenter  voting  aye.  He  predicted,  however,  that  in  the 
lawless  and  disordered  state  in  which  Georgia  then  was,  she 
would  not  conform  to  the  requirements  of  the  acts  of  recon 
struction  and  would  not  come  properly  into  the  Union.  This 
prediction  was  verified,  and  when,  in  February,  1870,  B.  F. 
Butler,  in  the  house,  presented  a  bill  for  the  admission  of 
Georgia,  all  the  old  arguments,  animosities  and  objections 
were  revamped  and  rehashed.  In  the  exceedingly  lengthy 
debate  which  this  bill  precipitated,  Carpenter  bore  a  prom 
inent,  able  part.  The  bill  provided  the  conditions  upon  which 
Georgia  should  be  admitted,  to  which,  all  and  singular,  Car 
penter  objected,  arguing  that  a  state  was  either  fit  to  be  ad 
mitted  unconditionally  into  the  Union  or  not  at  all.  Mr. 
Drake,  of  Missouri,  offered  an  amendment  providing  for  call 
ing  the  militia  into  Georgia  upon  the  representation  of  the 
legislature  or  the  governor,  for  the  purpose  of  suppressing 
ku  klux  klans  and  other  disturbing  or  murderous  organiza 
tions,  when  Carpenter  pointed  out  how  idle  such  a  law  would 
be  in  a  state  where  the  legislature  and  officers  were  more 
than  likely  to  be  members  of  those  organizations,  in  wrhich 
case  no  request  would  ever  be  forthcoming.  He  argued  that 
some  discretionary  power  should  be  invested  in  the  President 
to  take  steps  to  suppress  lawlessness  and  murder  in  the  south. 

A  CLASH  WITH  SUMNER. 

It  was  during  this  debate  that  Carpenter,  in  applying  the 
lash  to  Charles  Sumner  for  favoring  the  various  "  funda 
mental  conditions "  upon  which  it  was  proposed  to  admit 
Georgia,  declared  that  the  controversy  then  in  progress 
would  not  soon  pass  from  memory,  as  "  all  the  loose  thought 
and  wild  talk  inspired  by  a  civil  war,  confined  hitherto  to 


A   CLASH    WITH   SUMNER.  343 

newspaper  editorials  and  inflammatory  speeches  on  the 
stump,  at  length  have  found  utterance  in  this  high  place;  all 
this  extravagance  and  absolute  wildness  are  sanctioned,  sanc 
tified  and  canonized  by  the  indorsement  of  the  senator  from 
Massachusetts."  He  also  declared  that  whenever  in  his 
course  the  senator  from  Massachusetts  met  the  circumvallat- 
ing  limits  of  the  constitution,  he  mounted  the  declaration  of 
independence  and  rode  over  the  obstruction  on  some  of  "  the 
glittering  generalities  of  that  revolutionary  pronunciamento," 
an  expression  that  Sumner  caught  up  to  arouse  the  ire  and 
secure  the  sympathy  of  the  prudes  of  the  republic. 

One  of  the  provisions,  or  "  fundamental  conditions,"  upon 
which  it  was  proposed  to  admit  Georgia  was  that  her  con 
stitution  should  "  never  be  so  amended  or  changed  as  to  de 
prive  any  citizen  or  class  of  citizens  of  the  right  to  vote." 
This  Carpenter  ridiculed  as  childish,  as  the  constitution  of 
the  United  States  guarantied  that  right  to  the  citizens  of  all 
states,  and  the  provisions  of  no  state  constitution  could  strike 
it  down  or  annul  it.  He  declared 

When  a  bill  comes  before  congress  thus  clogged  with  limitations  and  con 
ditions,  it  is  evident  there  is  some  little  question  about  the  propriety  of  ad 
mitting  Georgia  at  this  time.  *  *  *  Is  it  safe,  is  it  prudent,  to  pass  the 
bill  \vith  this  amendment  and  admit  the  state  into  the  Union?  Look  at  the 
report  of  General  Terry,  listen  to  the  testimony  of  our  friends  from 
Georgia,  consider  the  lawlessness  that  prevails  there,  and  then  answer  on 
your  consciences  whether  that  community  be  fit  to  be  received  into  full 
communion  as  a  state  of  the  Union.  I  can  not  think  so.  ***** 
The  more  I  reflect  upon  this  subject  the  more  I  think  it  would  be  little  less 
than  madness  to  admit  this  state;  and  as  we  are  all  agreed  that  it  is  not 
safe  to  do  so,  why  can  we  not  do  one  logical  thing  in  this  business  of  recon 
struction,  namely,  postpone  this  bill  indefinitely,  and  remand  this  com 
munity  either  to  military  supervision  under  the  reconstruction  acts,  or  da 
what,  if  I  could  have  my  way,  I  would  have  done  with  all  the  states  — put 
her  under  a  civil  territorial  form  of  government,  subject  at  all  times  to  the 
revising  and  supervising  power  of  congress,  until  the  elements  lashed  into 
fury  by  the  war  shall  have  subsided,  order  be  restored  and  peace  estab 
lished  in  that  distracted  community.  In  that  way  we  can  perform  all  the 
duties  of  the  government,  restrain  crime  and  promote  the  welfare  of  that 
people/ 


344 


LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 


Some  clays  after  this  speech  Sumner  made  his  descent 
upon  Carpenter  for  referring  to  the  declaration  of  independ 
ence  as  the  "  glittering  generalities  of  a  revolutionary  pro- 
nunciamento,"  as  well  as  for  his  constitutional  objections  to 
"admitting  Georgia,  bound  and  gagged,  half- \v ay  into  the 
Union."  He  was  very  earnest  if  not  angry  in  his  manner, 
and  denounced  Carpenter  in  strong  terms,  but  did  not  at 
tempt  to  overthrow  his  arguments  and  conclusions  except 
by  accusing  him  of  reviving  state  rights  and  slavery  doc 
trines,  and  appearing  in  the  "  blood-bespattered  garments  of 
John  C.  Calhoun."  Several  times  during  this  bitter  denun 
ciatory  declamation  Carpenter  requested  to  be  allowed  to 
ask  a  question  —  a  courtesy  always  granted  by  senators 
except  upon  some  peculiar  occasion,  —  but  Sumner  scorn 
fully  refused,  closing  his  effort  by  accusing  Carpenter  of 
advocating  the  exploded  tenets  of  slavery  and  of  misrepre 
senting  his  [Sumner's]  former  speech.  The  moment  Sum 
ner  resumed  his  seat  Carpenter  rose  to  reply,  not  waiting, 
as  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  had  done,  several  days 
to  prepare  for  an  assault.  He  had  uttered  only  a  few  sen 
tences  when  Sumner  began  a  series  of  interruptions  which 
were  finally  suppressed,  as  will  appear  by  this  official  ex 
tract  from  the  debate: 

The  senator  has  also  called  me  to  account  for  slighting  the  declaration 
.of  independence,  and  again  charges  me  with  advocating  the  doctrines  of 
Calhoun  and  vindicating  slavery.  The  propensity  of  the  senator  to  reduce 
every  discussion,  no  matter  what  may  be  its  subject,  to  the  general  head  of 
slavery  —  a  field  of  debate  in  which  he  has  had  great  experience  and  won 
many  laurels  —  calls  to  mind  the  practice  of  the  quack  who  always  threw 
his  patient  into  convulsions,  because  that  was  a  disease  within  his  healing 
power.  If  the  senator  can  refer  any  discussion  to  the  head  of  slavery,  he 
feels  assured  of  victory  and  immediately  proclaims  his  triumph.  And 
here,  where  the  question  relates  to  the  power  of  congress  over  a  given  sub 
ject,  instead  of  meeting  it  like  a  man,  face  to  face;  instead  of  treating  it 
like  a  lawyer,  with  reason  and  argument,  he  flies  at  his  opponent  with  de 
nunciation  and  malediction,  and  pronounces  him  a  secessionist  and  nullifier. 

Mr.  Sumner —  I  used  no  such  words. 

Mr.  Carpenter  —  You  dki  not  like  to  be  interrupted  either,  if  I  recollect 


GEORGIA   AND    MISSISSIPPI.  345 

Mr.  Sumner — No. 

Mr.  Carpenter  —  I  understand  that  the  rules  of  the  senate  apply  to  you 
as  well  as  to  other  senators. 

The  Presiding  Officer  —  The  senator  will  address  the  chair,  and  will  not 
be  interrupted  unless  by  his  consent. 

GEORGIA  AND  MISSISSIPPI. 

In  this  debate  Carpenter  was  also  opposed  by  Senator 
Morton,  who  favored  admitting  Georgia  conditionally;  but  the 
lamented  senator  from  Indiana  was  silenced  by  the  quoting 
of  page  after  page  from  a  speech  he  had  made  in  1868  upon 
the  bill  to  admit  Arkansas,  and  in  which  he  had  taken  exactly 
the  opposite  ground,  declaring  it  was  "  impossible  to  impose  a 
fundamental  condition  upon  the,people  of  an  incoming  state." 
It  was  a  powerful  and  conclusive  speech — one  of  the  very 
strongest  of  those  ponderous  addresses  that  Morton  some 
times  pronounced  in  the  senate,  and  Carpenter  turned  it  upon 
the  more  puny  arguments  of  the  occasion  in  question  with 
such  deadly  effect  that  not  a  syllable  of  reply  was  vouch 
safed. 

Georgia  was  unconditionally  admitted  into  the  Union  July 
15,  1870. 

In  the  briefer  but  not  less  spirited  and  able  debate  on  B. 
F.  Butler's  bill  to  admit  Mississippi  into  the  Union,  Carpen 
ter  argued  particularly  upon  the  constitutionality  of  the 
measure,  and  combated  with  great  vigor  the  theory  of  some 
ot  the  democrats  and  of  Norton,  of  Minnesota,  that  the 
southern  states  had  never  been  out  of  the  Union,  and,  there 
fore,  they  had  nothing  to  do  at  the  close  of  the  war  but  to 
elect  representatives  and  senators,  and  congress  had  nothing 
to  do  but  admit  them. 

He  argued  that  the  more  logical  course  would  have  been, 
on  the  surrender  of  Lee  at  Appomattox,  for  congress  to  have 
declared  the  war  ended,  all  local  governments  in  the  rebell 
ious  states  destroyed  by  the  people  thereof,  and  then  to  have 
proceeded  with  the  formation  of  territorial  governments,  to 


346  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

continue  until  the  inhabitants  should  be  reconstructed  in  spirit 
and  heart,  as  well  as  in  form: 

But  as  that  has  not  been  done,  we  must  hurry  the  work  of  reconstruc 
tion,  in  order  to  silence  military  law,  and  Mississippi  now  applies  for  ad 
mission  as  a  state.  Her  government  is  not  five  years  old;  it  is  not  the 
same  government  that  was  in  this  Union  in  1860;  but  it  comes  here  now 
for  the  first  time.  Sir,  it  comes  as  a  state,  and  you  have  but  one  thing  to 
determine;  you  can  admit  her,  or  you  can  refuse  her,  but  you  can  not  do 
both.  You  must  recognize  her  as  possessing,  in  every  respect  and  partic 
ular,  all  the  privileges,  powers  and  prerogatives  of  a  state,  before  you  can 
admit  her  into  this  Union,  because  this  Union  is  composed  of  states,  and 
of  states  only.  *  *  *  By  admitting  her  senators  and  representatives  to 
congress,  you  declare  her  to  be  a  state,  for  none  but  states  can  send  senators 
to  this  chamber.  *  *  *  This  doctrine  of  "fundamental  conditions"  is 
erroneous,  both  as  regards  the  state  and  the  United  States.  Those  matters 
which  belong  equally  to  all  the  states  are  committed  to  this  government, 
but  all  purely  domestic  matters  are  confided  to  the  respective  state  govern 
ments  which  compose  this  Union. 

He  then  showed  that  admitting  any  state  upon  "funda 
mental  conditions "  would  be  declaring  by  congress  that 
those  acts  imposing  the  conditions  were  constitutional. 
Therefore,  a  few  years  hence,  a  democratic  congress  might 
repeal  those  conditions  as  unnecessary,  but  having  the  prece 
dent  and  sanction  of  a  republican  body,  might  declare  that 
Massachusetts,  New  York  and  Illinois  should  be  circum 
scribed  by  congressional  limitations  and  conditions,  and  pro 
ceed  to  impose  them.  This  illustration  of  how  destructive 
in  the  fight  the  elephant  may  be  when  he  turns  back  on  his 
friends,  startled  the  advocates  of  "  fundamental  conditions," 
and  silenced  many  of  them;  but  the  bill  was  nevertheless 
passed.  But,  before  the  final  vote  was  taken,  Carpenter 
pleaded  eloquently  for  perfect  equality  between  the  states, 
declaring  anything  else  would  be  unconstitutional.  He  asked 
the  senators  if  Mississippi,  however  much  her  sincerity  and 
loyalty  of  spirit  might  be  distrusted,  could  be  admitted  shorn 
of  any  powers,  privileges  and  prerogatives  granted  to  Mas 
sachusetts  by  the  tenth  article  of  amendment  to  the  constitu- 


RETURN  OF  THE  OLD  DOMINION.  347 

tion  of  the  United  States,  and  they  were  silent.     He  further 
illustrated  his  position: 

If  a  robber  should  apply  for  admission  to  my  house,  I  would  deny  him 
admission,  or  I  would  admit  him  without  exhibiting  suspicion,  thus  show 
ing  him  that  I  reposed  confidence  in  him,  and  appeal  to  whatever  of  man 
hood  and  generosity  he  might  possess.  But  I  would  not  admit  him,  and 
then  insult  him  by  pretending  to  tie  his  hands  with  a  cord  which  I  knew 
and  he  knew  he  could  snap  asunder  in  a  second.  *  *  *  In  so  far  as 
these  conditions  do  not  go  beyond  the  provisions  of  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States,  they  are  wholly  useless,  because  the  constitution  would 
answer  the  same  purpose.  In  so  far  as  they  do  go  beyond  it,  they  are  in 
direct  conflict  with  the  constitution. 

Mississippi  was  conditionally  admitted  February  23,  1870. 

RETURN  OF  THE  OLD  DOMINION. 

In  the  debate  (January,  1870)  on  Senator  Thurman's  bill 
declaring  Virginia  to  be  entitled  to  representation  in  con 
gress,  Senator  Drake  offered  an  amendment  providing  "  That 
the  constitution  of  Virginia  shall  never  be  so  amended  or 
changed  as  to  deprive  any  citizen  or  class  of  citizens  of  the 
United  States  of  the  right  to  vote  who  are  entitled  to  vote  by 
the  constitution  herein  recognized,  except  as  a  punishment 
for  such  crimes  as  are  now  felonies  at  common  law."  This 
was  opposed  by  Carpenter,  who  said  reconstruction  had  been 
begun  too  early,  but  if  the  time  had  come  to  admit  Virginia, 
"  let  her  be  admitted  as  a  state,  not  as  a  maimed,  tied,  muti 
lated,  partial  member  of  this  Union;"  for  if  states  were  ad 
mitted  without  the  rights  and  privileges  possessed  by  the  other 
states,  the  Union  must  fail.  "  It  will  not  do,"  he  continued,  "  to 
say,  as  Virginia  appears  upon  our  threshold:  'We  distrust 
you;  we  will  not  grant  you  the  full  functions  of  a  state;  we 
will  not  allow  you  to  amend  your  constitution  in  certain  par 
ticulars.'  She  must  either  come  in  as  a  state  or  remain  a  terri 
tory.  We  can  not  change  a  constitution  which  the  people  of 
Virginia  have  ratified,  and  substitute  by  force  one  that  they 
have  not  ratified."  He  argued  at  length  against  this  amend 
ment,  showing  that  it  was  no  more  necessary  to  say 


348  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

Virginia  should  not  violate  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
amendments  than  that  it  should  not  violate  any  other  article 
or  provision  of  the  constitution,  or  that  New  York  should 
not.  The  clause  providing  that  "  Should  the  legislature  of 
said  state  of  Virginia  at  any  time  hereafter  pass  any  act 
or  resolution  purporting  to  rescind,  annul  or  retract  its  ratifi 
cation  of  the  fifteenth  article  of  amendment  of  the  constitu 
tion  of  the  United  States,  the  passage  of  such  act  or  resolution 
shall  operate  to  exclude  said  state  from  representation  in  con 
gress,  and  to  remand  said  state  to  its  condition  immediately 
prior  to  the  passage  of  this  resolution,"  was  also  opposed  by 
Carpenter.  On  that  point  he  said: 

It  is  not  an  agreeable  office  to  set  in  array  before  a  man  the  sins  he  has 
committed.  It  would  be  still  more  ungracious,  in  admitting  a  state  to  fel 
lowship  as  a  member  of  the  Union,  to  threaten  her  with  punishment  if  she 
should  violate  her  duty  as  a  state.  "  Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil 
thereof."  When  the  case  arises  which  calls  for  congressional  interference, 
congress  will  unquestionably  interfere.  It  is  our  duty  to  extend  to  Vir 
ginia,  coming  as  a  state  into  the  Union,  the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  and 
treat  her  as  an  equal,  honored  and  trusted  sister  while  she  remains  faithful 
to  the  relation  she  now  assumes.  Should  she  ever  again  unfortunately  fail 
in  that  duty,  the  remembrance  of  her  towns  burned,  her  fields  ravaged,  her 
homes  desolated,  will  suggest  to  her  what  has  been  and  what  must  be  the 
remedy. 

He  antagonized  Sumner,  Morton  and  other  leading  sena 
tors  at  this  time,  but  subsequently  his  doctrine  was  confirmed 
by  the  highest  authority.  The  debate  was  important  in  plac 
ing  upon  record  not  only  Carpenter's  interpretation  of  the 
constitution  in  the  practical  work  of  reconstruction,  but  in  dis 
closing  his  views  of  the  policy  and  wisdom  of  the  scheme  itself. 
In  regard  to  the  latter  he  declared : 

If  I  were  to  express  any  opinion  upon  this  subject  of  reconstruction 
going  into  the  past,  I  should  say  that  the  mistake  which  had  been  made  was 
in  hastening  reconstruction.  I  would  have  had  those  southern  states 
placed  under  the  guardianship  of  the  Union.  I  would  have  had  them 
trained  and  disciplined  to  liberty  and  law  and  order,  and  all  the  better  if  it 
had  been  continued  for  twenty-five  years.  I  would  let  this  generation  cool 
down.  But  then,  sir,  whenever  the  time  did  come,  be  it  early  or  late,  for 
creating  states  out  of  those  territories,  I  would  have  states.  I  would  have 


THE   SPANISH   GUN-BOATS  —  CUBA.  349 

no  maimed,  tied,  mutilated,  partial  member  of  this  Union ;  no  state  here 
without  the  rights  and  privileges  possessed  by  other  states,  for  I  believe  no 
such  Union  can  go  safely  on  the  tide  of  time.  The  guaranty  of  our  Union, 
its  perpetuity  and  its  peace,  is  in  the  equality  of  every  member  of  the 
Union.  I  would  give  to  Virginia  while  I  gave  her  place  at  this  board  1  all 
the  rights  I  would  give  to  Massachusetts. 

If  Carpenter's  plan  of  reconstruction  and  "  cooling  down  " 
had  been  adopted,  there  would  have  been  no  electoral  com 
mission,  no  Hamburg  outrages  or  Chisholm  butchery,  no 
Louisiana  returning-board,  nor  any  of  their  collateral  evils. 

THE  SPANISH  GUN-BOATS  —  CUBA. 

But  that  which  made  Carpenter  most  conspicuous  during 
this  session  of  congress,  both  in  America  and  Europe,  was 
his  debate  on  a  resolution,  introduced  by  him  December  13, 
1869: 

Resolved,  That,  in  the  opinion  of  the  senate,  the  thirty  gun-boats  pur 
chased  or  contracted  for  in  the  United  States  by  or  on  behalf  of  the  govern 
ment  of  Spain  to  be  employed  against  the  revolted  district  of  Cuba  should 
not  be  allowed  to  depart  from  the  United  States  during  the  continuance  of 
that  rebellion. 

Two  days  later  he  opened  his  speech  by  saying  he  had 
waited  anxiously  for  some  old  senator  of  national  reputation, 
"  thus  giving  to  the  subject  a  degree  of  importance  which 
could  not  attach  coming  from  him,"  and  that  fearing  his 
"  ardent  western  temperament  and  the  warm  sympathy  of 
his  nature  would  betray  him  into  the  use  of  inflammatory 
rhetoric,"  he  should  confine  himself,  "  at  great  personal  in 
convenience,"  to  his  notes.  He  then  gave  a  succinct  but 
lucid  history  of  Cuba;  summed  up  her  deplorable  condition  at 
that  time;  showed  under  what  a  wicked  and  stupendous 
system  of  extortion  she  was  struggling;  drew  a  startling 
picture  of  the  slavery,  physical  and  political,  against  which  the 
Cubans  were  in  revolt;  quoted  from  the  constitution  of  the 
patriots,  which  emancipated  all  slaves;  astonished  the  senate 
by  a  comprehensive  discourse  upon  the  doctrines  of  neutrality 

1  Virginia  was  conditionally  admitted  January  26,  1870. 


35O  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

| 

and  the  law  of  nations;  appealed  eloquently  to  Charles 
Sumner,  a  veteran  war-horse  in  the  anti-slavery  agitation,  to 
make  use  of  his  position  as  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
foreign  relations  to  place  the  government  right  on  the  record 
of  freedom,  and  to  throw  the  weight  of  his  great  influence 
on  the  side  of  struggling  and  down-trodden  liberty;  quoted  all 
the  statutes  and  from  scores  of  decisions  to  sustain  his  theory 
that  the  thirty  gun-boats  which  Spain  was  about  to  take  out 
of  New  York  against  Cuba  should  be  libeled,  and  thus  give 
the  Cubans  an  opportunity  to  prove,  as  they  had  begged  to 
do,  that  the  condition  of  things  on  their  island  was  true  as 
had  been  stated,  and  then  closed: 

Nothing  short  of  affording  this  opportunity  will  discharge  our  full  duty 
in  the  premises.  Spain,  employing  all  her  available  naval  and  military 
forces,  for  more  than  a  year  has  been  unable  to  suppress  the  revolt  in 
Cuba.  If  she  shall,  by  means  of  these  gun-boats,  be  able  to  accomplish 
what  she  has  not  been  able  to  and  probably  could  not  do  without  them, 
and  the  subjection  of  that  island  shall  thus  be  effected,  to  be  followed  with 
shooting,  hanging  and  the  wholesale  punishments  which  always  follow 
Spanish  victories  on  this  continent,  Cuba  may  say,  the  world  will  say,  and, 
what  is  worse,  we  shall  know,  that  we  have  furnished  to  Spain  the  means 
by  which  this  result  is  accomplished.  If  there  be  no  war  in  Cuba,  then 
Spain  will  not  greatly  suffer  from  the  delay  necessary  to  be  occasioned  in 
trying  this  question.  Cuba  holds  up  her  hands  to  us,  states  her  case,  rep 
resents  her  condition;  Spain  denies  the  truth  of  these  statements  and  Cuba 
oflfors  to  prove  them.  Shall  we  deny  her  this  opportunity?  *  *  *  Lib 
erty  in  Cuba  is  in  the  helplessness  of  infancy ;  its  life  is  feeble,  its  pulse 
low.  *  *  *  As  it  is,  whether  the  United  States  does  its  duty  or  vio 
lates  its  duty,  Cuba  is  without  remedy;  but  there  is  a  bar,  the  bar  of  impar 
tial  history,  before  which  all  governments  must  stand;  there  is  a  God,  and 
a  great  book  in  which  the  deeds  of  nations  are  written,  and  there  is  retribu 
tion  for  every  nation  which,  knowing  its  duty,  does  it  not. 

After  closing  the  speech,  which  was  listened  to  with  un 
usual  attention,  except  that  the  senator  from  Massachusetts 
assumed  a  comtemptuous  indifference,  Carpenter  stated  that 
he  thought  early  action  was  necessary,  as  he  understood 
eighteen  of  the  gun-boats  would  leave  New  York  harbor  in 
two  days.  At  this  Sumner  sprung  to  his  feet,  and  flaunting 
the  paper  upon  which  it  was  written  before  the  senate,  read 


THE    SPANISH    GUN-BOATS — CUBA.  351 

a  telegram  sent  from  New  York  the  night  before,  saying 
the  vessels  had  been  delivered  to  the  agents  of  the  Spanish 
government,  that  they  were  flying  the  Spanish  flag,  were 
fully  manned,  and  would  put  to  sea  the  following  morning. 
"The  following  morning  is  this  morning,"  exultantly  cried 
Sumner,  who  then  proceeded  to  briefly  oppose  the  resolution 
upon  the  ground  that  Carpenter  had  misapprehended  the 
statutes,  that  Cuba  was  not  in  a  state  of  war,  and  that  con 
gress  had  no  knowledge  of  the  real  condition  of  affairs  in 
Cuba  upon  which  to  predicate  debate  and  action.  Carpen 
ter  then  asked  if  the  present  was  not  a  most  favorable  time 
to  libel  the  boats  and  secure  proof  on  the  facts  the  senator 
from  Massachusetts  had  desired.  Sumner  replied  that  he 
thought  not;  that  the  better  way  was  to  await  information 
from  the  state  department,1  and  "  send  to  the  authorized  agents 
in  Cuba  and  direct  them  to  report." 

Thus  it  became  apparent  to  Carpenter  that,  for  some  rea 
son  unknown  to  him,  Sumner  was  seeking  delay,  and  he 
was  not  a  little  astonished  that  the  great  antagonist  of  slav 
ery  and  oppression  in  other  days  should  be  possessed  of 
such  minute  information,  not  within  the  reach  of  the  other 
senators,  in  regard  to  the  secret  movements  of  the  Spanish 
gun-boats  fitted  out  in  American  ports  in  the  interest  of  slav 
ery,  and  that  he  should  manifest  such  ill-concealed  relish  in 
reading  it  to  the  senate  to  show  that  the  war-ships  had  sailed 
and  that  the  purpose  of  the  resolution  had  thus  been  baf 
fled.  When  questioned  as  to  the  responsibility  and  identity 
of  the  sender  of  the  dispatch,  Sumner  vouchsafed  no  infor 
mation;  but  it  soon  became  known  that  he  was  present  the 
night  before  at  a  dinner  given  by  Secretary  Fish,  and  re 
ceived  a  copy  of  the  telegram  from  Sidney  Webster  (attor 
ney  or  agent  of  the  Spanish  government  at  a  large  salary) 
to  whom  it  was  sent  officially. 

The  gun-boats  had  been  detained  by  the  administration,  but 

l  A  resolution  asking  for  information  relative  to  the  revolt  in  Cuba  had 
previously  been  adopted. 


352  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

suddenly,  when  it  became  known  that  Carpenter  had  pre 
pared  a  resolution  asking  to  have  them  libeled,  they  were 
released,  and  taking  officers,  provisions  and  crews  from  the 
Spanish  ship  Pizarro,  sailed  away  in  the  shortest  possible 
order.  The  liberty-lovers  of  the  senate  had  been  outwitted. 
The  Spaniards  sent  word  that  if  action  on  Carpenter's  reso 
lution  could  be  delayed,  the  gun-boats  would  be  entirely  be 
yond  the  reach  of  its  terms.  That  delay  was  secured  before 
Carpenter  discovered  why  it  was  wanted. 

When  Sumner's  position  and  action  in  the  senate  became 
known  and  Carpenter's  speech  had  been  read  by  the  people, 
there  arose  a  violent  clamor  against  the  former  and  unbounded 
praise  for  the  latter.  The  newspapers  voiced  public  senti 
ment.  The  New  York  Times  cried  "America's  shame;" 
the  New  York  Sun  declared  that  "  Massachusetts  had  been 
forever  disgraced,"  and  hurled  bolt  after  bolt  at  Sumner, 
styling  him,  in  bitter  irony,  "  The  Great  Pro-Slavery  Senator 
from  Massachusetts;"  and  the  New  York//mz/i/  said: 

The  secretary  has  been  influenced,  probably,  by  Spanish  agents,  and 
among  these  by  his  own  son-in-law,  who,  it  is  reported,  receives  a  fee,  or 
bribe,  or  whatever  it  may  be  called,  of  forty  thousand  dollars  a  year  from 
Spain.  He  has  been  influenced,  too,  no  doubt,  by  Senator  Sumner,  the 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  foreign  affairs  in  the  senate,  who  is  the  enemy 
of  Cuba,  because,  forsooth,  he  imagines  that  any  kindness  shown  to  the 
Cubans  or  the  recognition  of  their  belligerent  rights  might  destroy  the  ef 
fect  of  his  grand  sophomorical  speech  on  the  Alabama  claims. 

SPLENDID  INDORSEMENTS. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  leading  journals  of  the  country,  ir 
respective  of  party,  were  unstinted  in  their  commendation  of 
Carpenter's  eloquence  and  patriotism,  while  the  foremost 
judges  and  jurists  indorsed  his  interpretation  of,  and  conclu 
sions  upon,  the  neutrality  laws  and  the  conditions  necessary 
to  constitute  a  state  of  belligerence.  His  name  and  praise 
appeared  in  almost  every  publication,  and  were  heard  in 
every  gathering  throughout  the  country.  He  thus  became, 
at  a  single  bound,  the  most  prominent  and  popular  member 


SPLENDID    INDORSEMENTS.  353 

of  the  senate.  The  various  state  legislatures  then  in  session 
adopted  resolutions  indorsing  his  speech  and  condemning  the 
action  of  the  government  in  libeling  the  Hornet,  a  vessel  fit 
ted  out  by  the  Cuban  patriots  in  American  waters  to  cruise 
against  Spain,  while  releasing,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  arouse 
public  suspicion,  the  thirty  gun-boats  fitted  out  in  the  same 
waters  by  the  Spaniards  to  levy  war  against  the  Cuban 
patriots. 

Carpenter  based  his  argument  that  it  was  the  clear  duty 
of  the  federal  power  to  libel  the  thirty  gun-boats  fitted  out  in 
the  United  States  to  cruise  against  Cuba,  upon  the  section  of 
the  neutrality  laws  of  1818  which  declares  that  any  ship  in 
any  manner  fitted  out,  provisioned  or  armed  within  the  limits 
of  the  United  States,  to  be  used  to  commit  hostilities  against 
the  "  subjects,  citizens  or  property  of  any  foreign  prince  or 
state,  or  any  colony,  district  or  people  with  whom  the  United 
States  are  at  peace,"  shall  be,  with  all  her  tackle,  stores,  am 
munition,  etc.,  seized,  and  the  persons  engaged  in  such  fitting 
out  fined  and  imprisoned.  But  Sumner,  in  the  clear  interest 
of  Spain,  said  this  law  did  not  apply  to  Cuba  and  Spain  in 
the  case  under  discussion,  and  that  Carpenter  was  laboring 
under  a  mistaken  reading  of  the  statutes.  Three  days  later, 
however,  Judge  Alfred  Conkling,  of  New  York,  who  had 
been  employed  to  gather  and  digest  the  neutrality  laws  dur 
ing  the  "  Patriot  War  "  in  Canada,  wrote  for  Hamilton  Fish, 
secretary  of  state,  an  elaborate  opinion  overthrowing  the 
peculiar  assumptions  of  Sumner  and  affirming  the  unblem 
ished  soundness  of  Carpenter's  reasoning  and  conclusions. 

A  great  mass-meeting  was  held  in  New  York  city,  which 
was  addressed  by  Horace  Greeley,  Cassius  M.  Clay,  and 
other  leading  men,  to  indorse  Carpenter  and  condemn  Sum 
ner,  and  a  resolution  was  adopted  by  the  New  York  legisla 
ture  praising  the  former's  speech,  and  declaring  his  resolution 
should  have  been  adopted. 

On  the  3d  day  of  February,  when  the  bill  introduced  by 
Senator  T.  O.  Howe  [of  Wisconsin]  "  to  preserve  the  neu- 
23 


354  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

trality  of  the  United  States,"  which  had  reference  to  Spain 
and  Cuba,  came  up,  Carpenter  made  a  still  more  elaborate 
and  powerful  speech  in  support  of  the  position  he  had  as 
sumed  in  favoring  the  adoption  of  his  own  resolution,  and 
took  occasion  to  handle  Sumner  and  his  so-styled  "  pro-slav 
ery"  remarks  with  great  freedom  and  severity.  Sumner, 
observing  how  pitilessly  he  was  being  torn  to  shreds,  arose 
and  denied  that  he  intended  in  his  remarks  to  convey  the 
meaning  that  had  been  put  upon  them.  Carpenter  replied 
that  no  other  construction  was  possible,  and  that  Sumner 
should  thank  him  for  giving  such  an  excellent  opportunity 
to  explain  some  very  unfortunate  remarks,  adding: 

I  understand  him  now  to  admit  all  that  I  claim,  that  this  neutrality  act 
is  as  applicable  to  the  condition  of  things  between  Spain  and  Cuba 

Mr.  Sumner  —  No;  I  do  not  admit  any  such  thing. 

Mr.  Carpenter  —  I  understand  the  senator  now  to  admit  that  this  statute 
of  neutrality  is  just  as  applicable  to  a  state  of  things  between  Spain  and 
Cuba  as  it  was  between  Spain  and  the  South  American  provinces,  provided 
the  facts  of  the  case  bring  it  within  the  position  that  those  parties  occupied 
at  that  time. 

Mr.  Sumner  —  Precisely;  that  is  my  position. 

Mr.  Carpenter  —  That  is  all  I  wished  to  establish.  I  shall  congratulate 
myself  on  having  succeeded.  I  know  I  am  right  now,  because  I  am  not 
only  sustained  by  the  authorities  which  I  have  read,  but  I  am  backed  up  to 
the  handle  by  the  senator  from  Massachusetts. 

In  this  spirited  controversy  both  men  won.  Carpenter 
failed  to  prevent  the  sailing  of  the  Spanish  gun-boats,  but  he 
won  the  highest  place  in  popular  regard.  Sumner  lost  his 
hold  upon  the  American  public,  but  rendered  full  service  to 
Spain. 

Carpenter's  reputation  as  a  brilliant  orator,  powerful  de 
bater  and  clear  expounder  of  constitutional  and  international 
law  was  fully  established  by  the  Cuban  question,  was  freely 
acknowledged  everywhere,  the  New  York  Times  pronounc 
ing  him  the  "best  speaker  in  the  senate  and  the  Daniel 
Webster  of  the  west."  Indeed,  it  has  never  been  denied 
that  his  second  speech  upon  that  subject  was  one  of  the  most 
remarkable,  in  the  wide  range  of  its  historical  references,  ex- 


AN  "INHABITANT"  OR  A  "RESIDENT."  355 

tended  research  into  authorities  and  decisions,  uncontro- 
vertible  application  of  law  to  fact,  unanswerable  form  of 
statements  and  arguments,  and  withal,  in  eloquence  and 
sarcasm,  that  has  ever  been  heard  in  the  senate.  No  man 
could  make  any  adequate  reply  to  it  without  weeks  of 
preparation;  and  although  Sumner  gave  notice  of  a  reply, 
he  refrained  from  keeping  the  promise. 

AN  "INHABITANT"  OR    A  "RESIDENT." 

In  March,  1870,  occurred  a  somewhat  notable  debate  on 
the  eligibility  of  Adelbert  Ames  as  senator  from  Mississippi. 
He  was  a  general  in  the  army,  and  had  been  sent  as  such  to 
unreconstructed  Mississippi.  While  stationed  there  he  agreed 
that  if  he  could  be  elected  United  States  senator  he  would 
make  Mississippi  his  future  home.  On  this  promise  he  was 
elected  and  presented  himself  for  admission  to  the  chamber. 
The  committee  on  judiciary,  after  a  careful  investigation, 
decided  Mr.  Ames  to  be  ineligible,  whereupon  the  republican 
leaders  made  very  active  warfare  upon  the  report  and  its 
signers,  for  partisan  reasons,  Mr.  Ames  being  a  republican, 
as  were  also  a  majority  of  the  committee  and  of  the  senate. 

The  constitution  of  the  United  States  declares  that  a  man 
to  be  eligible  to  the  United  States  senate  must  be,  among 
other  things,  "an  inhabitant  of  the  state  for  which  he  shall 
be  chosen."  Mr.  Ames  went  temporarily  to  Mississippi 
upon  military  duty,  in  obedience  to  orders,  and  not  volun 
tarily  as  a  citizen  intending  to  found  a  home  or  a  business. 
The  question,  therefore,  turned  upon  whether  he  was  an 
"  inhabitant "  of  that  state,  and  Carpenter,  with  great  clear 
ness  and  perspicuity,  maintained  that  he  was  not,  as  Mr. 
Ames  had  stated  to  the  committee  that  he  would  not  have 
remained  in  Mississippi  as  a  resident,  nor  resigned  from  the 
army,  if  he  had  not  been  chosen  United  States  senator.  In 
this  debate  those  who  proposed  to  seat  Mr.  Ames  whether 
or  not  he  was  entitled  to  recognition  were  branded  by  Car 
penter  as  "  the  advance  guard  of  the  constitution  raiders." 


356  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

He  paid  a  very  high  compliment  to  Mr.  Ames  for  his  hon 
esty  and  fairness,  saying: 

He  made  no  attempt  to  conceal  or  cclor  facts;  he  stated  the  truth  with 
the  frankness  of  a  soldier.  *  *  *  I  have  the  highest  respect  and  admira 
tion  for  General  Ames,  and  if  after  this  full  performance  of  my  duty  and 
after  my  vote,  which  must  be  cast  against  him,  a  majority  of  the  senate 
shall  accord  to  him  a  seat  in  this  body,  though  I  shall  regard  the  precedent 
as  bad  and  a  dangerous  one,  and  though  I  shall  believe  that  he  has  been  ad 
mitted  to  his  seat  through  the  bleeding  sides  and  broken  ribs  of  the  con 
stitution,  nevertheless  I  shall  most  cordially  welcome  him  personally. 

Mr.  Ames  was  admitted  April  i,  1870,  by  a  vote  of  forty 
to  twelve.  Among  those  who  voted  nay  with  Carpenter 
were  Roscoe  Conkling,  Lyman  Trumbull,  Geo.  F.  Ed 
munds,  T.  F.  Bayard  and  Carl  Schurz,  and  when  the  mat 
ter  was  subsequently  brought  unofficially  to  the  notice  of 
several  members  of  the  United  States  supreme  court,  they 
decided  without  hesitancy  that  Carpenter's  definition  of  ineli- 
gibility  was  correct. 

ENFORCING  THE  AMENDMENTS. 

During  the  long  and  somewhat  partisan  debates  on  Bing- 
ham's  bill  to  enforce  the  fifteenth  amendment,  the  democrats 
were  greatly  harassed  by  Carpenter's  interpretation  of  the 
various  amendments  which  they  offered.  While  Thurman 
was  advocating  a  provision  which  proposed  to  punish  of 
fenses  against  the  laws  governing  the  election  of  members 
of  congress,  Carpenter  interposed: 

Inasmuch  as  the  election  takes  place  at  the  same  time  and  place  for  offi 
cers  under  the  general  government,  to  wit,  members  of  congress  and  officers 
of  the  state  government,  if  the  penalties  attached  to  our  law  are  sufficient 
sanctions  to  compel  obedience  to  it,  the  New  York  repeaters,  as  they  go  to 
the  polls,  will  be  in  this  predicament:  they  will  be  compelled  to  vote  hon 
estly  for  federal  officers,  but  will  be  left  to  their  old  practices  on  state  officers ; 
and  this  will  produce  such  an  almighty  perplexity  on  their  part  that  I  am 
afraid  they  will  not  vote  at  all. 

Carpenter  offered  this  amendment  to  the  Bingham  bill, 
which  was  adopted  and  became  a  portion  of  the  law: 

That  any  person  who  shall  be  deprived,  or  fail  to  be  elected  to  any  office, 
except  that  of  member  of  congress  or  member  of  a  state  legislature,  by 


LARGE    OFFICES,    SMALL    PAY.  357 

reason  of  the  denial  to  any  citizen  of  the  right  to  vote,  who  offered  his 
vote  at  the  election,  on  account  of  his  race,  color  or  previous  condition  of 
servitude,  shall  be  entitled  to  hold  such  office  and  perform  the  duties  and 
receive  the  emoluments  thereof,  and  may  recover  the  possession  of  such 
office  by  quo  ivarranto  or  other  appropriate  proceeding  in  the  circuit  or 
district  court  of  the  United  States  for  the  proper  district,  or  in  any  state 
court  having  jurisdiction  of  such  proceedings. 

LARGE  OFFICES,  SMALL  PAY. 

During  the  discussion  of  the  appropriation  bills  of  the  ses 
sion,  Carpenter  made  an  eloquent  but  unavailing  plea  for  the 
adoption  of  an  amendment  increasing  the  pay  of  the  judi 
ciary —  raising  the  salaries  of  the  justices  of  the  supreme  court 
to  $10,000,  and  of  other  judges  proportionately.  He  de 
clared  the  time  had  come  when  the  salaries  for  civil  service 
must  be  increased  or  the  government  would  go  practically 
into  the  hands  of  an  aristocracy  of  wealth.  His  argument  is 
interesting: 

An  act  of  congress  which  provided  that  no  judge  should  sit  on  the  su 
preme  bench  unless  he  had  a  certain  income  would  raise  an  insurrection  in 
this  country,  and  yet  what  is  the  practical  difference  between  such  an  act 
and  one  which  fixes  the  salary  so  low  that  a  man  can  not  take  the  place  un 
less  he  has  a  private  income? 

Look  at  England.  They  are  consistent  with  themselves.  Their  theory 
of  civil  government  is  that  it  should  be  in  the  hands  of  an  aristocracy  of 
wealth  and  nobility  of  blood.  How  do  they  manage  to  secure  that  end? 
They  will  not  pay  a  member  of  parliament  a  shilling.  What  is  the  result? 
The  house  of  commons  to-day  is  the  richest  body  of  men  in  England.  We 
have  heard  a  great  deal  of  discussion  in  that  country  that  has  come  to  us 
over  the  water  about  reform,  enlarging  the  ballot  What  does  it  amount 
to?  Has  the  poor  man  in  England  any  rights  whatever  with  the  ballot 
enlarged?  What  odds  does  it  make  whether  the  nabob  sitting  in  parlia 
ment  is  voted  for  by  twenty-five  hundred  or  twenty-five  thousand  poor 
men?  The  poor  men  have  no  interest  in  parliament;  they  can  not  take 
seats  there,  because  they  can  not  support  themselves  after  they  get  there. 

See  how  it  works  in  our  own  midst.  When  General  Grant's  administra 
tion  came  in,  he  offered  the  office  of  secretary  of  state  to  a  statesman  of  the 
west,  ot  Iowa,  a  man  whom  all  of  us  would  have  been  proud  to  see  in  that 
place.  How  did  he  look  at  it?  To  come  to  Washington  and  live  as  a  sec 
retary  of  state  should  live  would  cost  him  $15,000  a  year,  and  his  salary 
was  $8,000;  $7,000  out  of  pocket  each  year.  If  he  were  to  stay  with  his 


358  LIFE   OF  CARPENTER. 

family  in  Iowa,  he  could  support  them  on  $5,000  and  make  $15,000.  There 
was  $17,000  difference  in  his  bank  account  He  could  not  afford  to  pay 
that  amount  to  be  secretary  of  state.  Then  General  Grant  goes  right  to 
the  eastern  states  and  offers  the  office  to  a  man  to  whom  the  $17,000  made 
no  earthly  difference ;  and  in  that  case  your  $8,000  paid  to  the  present  sec 
retary  of  state  is  thrown  away,  because  he  would  have  taken  the  office  just 
as  quick  without  the  salary  as  with  it. 

Let  me  give  another  instance,  to  which  my  friend  from  Nevada  [Mr.  Nye] 
calls  my  attention.  During  the  war  Mr.  Stanton  was  working  in  the  war 
office  on  an  average  sixteen  hours  a  day,  doing  an  amount  ot  toil,  meeting 
an  amount  of  responsibility,  which  no  man  on  earth  ever  did  for  such  a 
length  of  time;  toil  and  trouble  that  broke  down  his  giant  constitution  and 
sent  him  untimely  to  the  grave,  where  the  representatives  of  this  nation 
with  heavy  hearts  and  with  heads  bowed  down  have  so  recently  laid  him. 
During  those  same  years  railroad  companies  all  over  the  country  were  pay 
ing  $10,000  a  year  to  their  attorneys 

PROTECTING  CITIZENS  ABROAD. 

Davis  Hatch,  of  Connecticut,  doing  business  in  San  Do 
mingo,  was  seized  upon  the  order  of  the  president  of  the 
Dominican  government  and  sentenced  to  death  for  no  violation 
of  law  or  order  whatever,  the  pretense  of  President  Baez 
being  that  he  would  make  such  revelations  in  regard  to  the 
condition  of  the  island  that  a  treaty  then  pending  would  not 
be  ratified  by  the  United  States.  O.  E.  Babcock  was  in  San 
Domingo  in  charge  of  the  treaty  negotiations,  and  the  peti 
tion  of  Hatch  related  that  he  had  been  continued  in  prison  at 
Babcock's  solicitation.  When  Senator  Ferry,  in  reading  the 
petkion,  came  to  this  feature  of  it,  Sumner  exclaimed,  refer 
ring  to  Babcock:  "  He  ought  to  be  cashiered  at  once."  This 
wakened  Carpenter  who  objected  to  referring  the  documents 
for  investigation  to  the  committee  on  foreign  relations,  whose 
chairman,  Sumner,  was  having  a  quarrel  with  President 
Grant,  and  who  was  therefore  assumed  to  entertain  a  strong 
prejudice  against  General  Babcock.  Carpenter  pronounced 
a  speech  on  the  subject,  closing  as  follows: 

The  British  government  stands  peerless  before  the  world  and  challenges 
the  world's  admiration  for  the  protection  it  affords  to  its  subjects  in  the  re 
motest  corner  of  the  globe.  '  No  matter  how  far  away  nor  in  what  clime, 


THE    FRANKING   PRIVILEGE.  359 

nor  how  humble  the  sufferer  may  be,  that  government  is  ready  to  exert  its 
utmost  power  for  his  relief  and  the  redress  of  his  wrongs.  An  injury  to  an 
Englishman  is  an  insult  to  England.  I  admire  the  English  monarchy  as 
much  for  this  as  I  detest  it  for  the  wrongs  it  often  inflicts  upon  the  subjects 
and  citizens  of  other  countries. 

In  this  respect,  in  my  judgment,  this  great  republic  has  been  sadly  at 
fault;  and  it  is  high  time  that  our  practice,  in  this  particular,  should  be 
reformed. 

Let  it  be  considered  as  the  settled  policy  of  this  republic  to  redress  the 
wrongs  of  its  citizens,  not  only  in  San  Domingo,  but  everywhere;  and  I 
invoke  a  part  of  the  indignation  and  wrath  which  the  chairman  of  our 
committee  on  foreign  relations  has  poured  upon  General  Babcock  in  behalf 
of  a  redress  of  the  yet  unpunished  wrongs  which  have  been  committed 
upon  American  citizens  in  Cuba.  They  have  been  murdered,  openly  as 
sassinated  in  the  streets  of  Havana,  and  one  of  our  citizens,  representing 
this  nation  as  an  acting  consul,  has  been  driven  from  that  island,  escaping 
for  his  life  under  protection  of  the  flag  of  England. 

Let  us  investigate  this  case  thoroughly,  but  let  it  be  done  by  a  committee 
whose  chairman  has  not  already  reported  against  one  of  the  conspicuous 
actors  whose  conduct  is  to  be  investigated. 

THE  FRANKING  PRIVILEGE. 

One  of  the  speeches  of  this  session,  which  the  opposition 
newspapers  subsequently  made  use  of  in  attempts  to  injure 
Carpenter  politically,  was  that  against  Representative 
Farnsworth's  bill  to  abolish  the  franking  privilege;  but  it 
was,  upon  a  subject  apparently  so  dry  and  barren,  one  of  the 
most  ingenious,  logical  and  entertaining  addresses  of  the 
session. 

A  large  number  of  petitions  from  all  parts  of  the  country 
had  been  presented,  praying  for  the  abolition  of  the  franking 
privilege,  and  Carpenter  startled  the  senate  by  exposing  the 
manner  in  which  those  petitions  were  obtained.  He  showed 
that  the  postmaster-general  had  sent  printed  circulars  to 
about  twenty-eight  thousand  postmasters  throughout  the 
Union,  directing  them  to  obtain  as  many  signatures  as  they 
could  to  papers  requesting  the  abolishment  of  the  franking 
privilege,  and  return  them  to  the  senators  and  representa 
tives  of  their  respective  states.  He  presented  to  the  senate 
the  proof  that  this  large  amount  of  matter  "  was  sent  out 


360  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

under  the  frank  of  the  postoffice  department  as  official  busi 
ness"  He  also  stated  that  he  had  been  unable  to  find  a 
single  genuine  petition  —  one  that  had  not  been  forcibly  ob 
tained  in  the  manner  mentioned.  He  then  made  an  argu 
ment  of  some  length  upon  the  merits  of  the  question.  He 
showed  by  facts  and  figures  that  the  franking  privilege,  in 
stead  of  being  a  benefit  and  valuable  perquisite  to  congress 
men,  was  a  source  of  great  annoyance  and  expense,  as  he 
had,  for  the  current  session  alone,  expended  over  $300  for 
speeches  called  for  by  his  Wisconsin  friends,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  labor  and  trouble  of  franking.  To  use  his  own 
words : 

The  benefits  of  the  franking  privilege  may  be  distributed  thus :  To  the 
member,  the  privilege  ot  buying  speeches,  paying  for  them  out  of  his  own 
pocket,  working  night  and  day  to  frank  them,  besides  paying  a  clerk  to 
direct  them;  and  to  the  people,  the  privilege  of  obtaining  them  without 
money  and  without  price. 

He  then  referred  to  the  fact  that  when  a  senator  could 
send  his  own  speeches  to  his  constituents,  they  would  show 
that  he  was  right  or  wrong,  and  the  people  could  thus  learn 
whether  they  were  being  misrepresented;  and  that,  as  the 
contracts  for  carrying  the  mails  had  already  been  let  for  four 
years,  the  passage  of  the  pending  bill  would  benefit  no  one, 
not  even  the  government.  In  referring  to  the  Rebellion  and 
the  benefits  arising  from  cheap  and  rapid  communication 
between  the  government  and  the  people,  he  said: 

I  was  not  in  congress  during  those  years;  but  I  was  with  the  people  fre 
quently  on  the  stump,  and  I  can  testify  to  the  benefits  of  the  franking  priv 
ilege  during  those  dark  and  perilous  times.  It  is  my  honest  belief  that  the 
Union  party  could  not  have  been  kept  in  power,  nor  the  people  held  up  to 
the  support  of  the  government  through  the  war,  but  for  the  flood  of  intelli 
gence  and  patriotic  appeals  which  was  poured  over  the  country  as  free  mail 
matter. 

After  referring  to  the  fact  that  the  government  maintains 
courts,  an  army  and  a  navy  for  the  benefit  of  the  public,  and 
that  a  merchant  vessel  is  protected  from  pirates  in  the  far 
thest  sea  without  cost,  and  that  upon  application  the  army 


A  SNUG   LITTLE  JOB.  361 

quells,  for  any  community,  and  free  of  expense,  Indian  out 
breaks,  insurrections  and  petty  invasions,  he  put  forth  this 
doctrine: 

If  it  be  not  a  government  duty  imposed  by  the  constitution  to  carry  the 
mails,  then  the  government  has  no  right  to  carry  them ;  and  if  it  has  such 
right  and  owes  such  duty,  then  the  expense  of  performing  that  duty  should 
be  defrayed  from  the  general  treasury. 

Speaking  from  a  partisan  standpoint  he  said: 

You  have  inaugurated  and  nearly  consummated  a  reconstruction  of  civil 
government  in  the  lately  rebel  states.  Is  it  not  important  that  you  should 
retain  every  facility  for  flooding  those  states  with  intelligence?  Do  you 
think  it  would  be  well  for  our  party,  well  for  our  country  and  well  for  free 
institutions  to  discourage  and  tax  the  transmission  of  our  political  views  to 
the  south?  In  a  mere  party  sense  it  would  be  madness.  *  *  *  I  believe 
if,  instead  of  depriving  our  people  of  intelligence,  as  a  means  of  saving 
$500,000,  we  should  annually  appropriate  $10,000,000  to  transmit  all  letters 
and  papers  to  Europe,  in  ten  years  we  would  revolutionize  those  countries. 

The  measure  did  not  pass. 

A  SNUG  LITTLE  JOB 

When  the  bill  to  aid  in  building  the  Texas  Pacific  Railway 
from  Marshall,  Texas,  to  San  Diego,  California,  was  under 
discussion,  an  amendment  embodying  what  that  famous  lob 
byist,  Sam  Ward,  would  have  called  a  "  snug  little  job,"  was 
offered  and  seemed  likely  to  pass.  It  purported  to  grant  the 
Chattanooga  &  Alabama  Railway  Company,  by  consolida 
tion  with  the  Vicksburg  &  Meridian  Railway  Company  and 
the  North  Louisiana  &  Texas  Railway  Company,  author 
ity  to  form  a  junction  at  Marshall  with  the  Texas  Pacific 
line,  but  it  really  gave  largely  increased  land -grants  to  roads 
already  built,  and  whose  charters  and  franchises  came  trom 
their  respective  states,  not  from  congress.  The  language  of 
the  amendment  was  so  cunningly  devised  that  only  the  in 
terested  senators  understood  what  would  be  accomplished; 
but  Carpenter  exposed  the  whole  scheme  and  defeated  it. 
An  amendment  offered  by  him  prevailed,  and  thus  one  of 
the  neatest  jobs  ever  attempted  to  be  smuggled  through  con 
gress  was  beheaded 


LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 


TARIFF  AND  TAXES. 

In  discussing  the  tariff  bill  Carpenter  opposed  imposts  on 
books  as  "  a  direct  tax  on  knowledge."  The  income-tax  he 
opposed  for,  among  others,  the  following  reason: 

I  vote  against  the  income-tax  because,  while  I  admit  that  theoretically 
it  is  a  perfect  way  of  getting  revenue,  yet  in  its  practical  operation  it  lays  a 
tax  upon  conscience.  Go  through  the  agricultural  districts  of  Wisconsin, 
and  you  will  find  in  all  instances  that  the  conscientious  men,  the  clergy 
men,  the  men  who  are  on  salaries,  whose  income  is  known  and  can  be  as 
certained,  have  to  pay  their  tax ;  but  the  men  whose  income  is  in  fact  five 
times  as  large,  and  you  have  no  means  to  reach  it,  go  scot  free.  In  other 
words,  the  tax  upon  incomes,  in  its  practical  operation,  is  a  tax  upon  con 
science;  and  conscience  has  fared  badly  in  this  country  a  great  many  times. 

CITIZENSHIP  OF  THE  CHINESE. 

One  of  the  speeches  that  was  particularly  clear  in  show 
ing  the  liberal,  enlightened  and  progressive  policy  Carpenter 
always  entertained  and  advocated,  was  that  upon  Represent 
ative  Davis'  bill  "  to  amend  the  naturalization  laws  and  to 
punish  crimes  against  the  same."  Charles  Sumner  offered 
an  amendment,  striking  the  word  "  white  "  from  the  natural 
ization  laws,  so  as  to  enable  colored  persons  born  in  the  West 
Indies,  Africa  and  elsewhere  to  become  voters  with  the  freed- 
men.  This  excited  the  Pacific  Slope  senators,  one  of  whom 
[Mr.  Williams,  of  Oregon]  added  a  proviso  that  the  act 
under  consideration  should  "  not  be  construed  to  authorize 
the  naturalization  of  persons  born  in  the  Chinese  empire." 
Carpenter  fought  this  vigorously  with  Sumner,  and  succeeded 
in  defeating  it,  leaving  the  law  with  no  reference  to  China 
men.  He  closed  his  speech  on  the  subject  in  these  words: 

Whenever  a  new  question  arises  in  the  details  of  administration,  when 
ever  a  new  subject  is  presented  for  legislative  regulation,  and  doubts  exist 
in  regard  to  the  course  to  be  pursued,  it  is  safer  to  be  guided  by  principle 
than  by  prejudice  or  passion.  What,  then,  is  the  American  principle  that 
should  guide  us  here?  There  are,  of  course,  many  theories  as  to  where  the 
right  of  suffrage  should  be  vested.  Those  writers  on  the  science  of  gov 
ernment  who  believe  that  the  few  were  designated  to  govern  the  many 


PENSIONS  —  CORPORATIONS.  363 

have  long  since  predicted  the  ruin  of  our  nation,  because  the  right  of  suf 
frage  is  so  widely  extended.  Some  contend  for  a  standard  of  intelligence; 
some  would  seek  the  standard  in  wealth;  some  in  blood;  some  in  one  thing, 
and  some  in  another.  But  we  Americans  have  met  all  the  discussions  and 
arguments  upon  this  subject  with  a  broad  American  principle,  which  is 
that  every  man  who  is  bound  by  the  law  ought  to  have  a  voice  in  making 
the  law.  By  the  opposition  of  the  senator  from  Oregon  I  am  reminded  of 
one  of  Lamb's  essays,  the  one  upon  roast  pig.  He  describes  himself  as 
being  a  generous  man;  says  he  would  divide  with  his  friend  most  of  the 
good  tilings  of  life,  beef,  mutton,  oysters,  clams,  etc.;  but  that  every  man's 
generosity  must  have  some  limit,  and  he  says  he  stops  on  roast  pig;  that  he 
would  not  divide  a  morsel  of  it  with  the  best  friend  he  had  on  earth.  The 
senator  from  Oregon  is  a  liberal  statesman,  and  a  good  man  —  a  man  of 
great  brain  and  of  warm  heart.  He  would  welcome  the  Frenchman,  the 
Englishman,  the  German,  the  Norwegian,  and  the  Swede;  yes,  the  slave 
just  freed  from  his  bonds  and  the  Negro  from  the  interior  of  Africa;  but 
the  senator's  generosity  must  have  some  limit,  and  so  he  stops  on  the 
Chinaman;  the  Chinaman  is  his  roast  pig. 

Sir,  this  American  maxim,  that  all  freemen  bound  by  the  law,  ought  to 
have  a  voice  in  making  the  law,  is  either  a  truth  or  a  falsehood.  If  it  be  a 
truth,  the  Chinaman1  is  entitled  to  vote;  if  it  be  a  falsehood,  then  you 
must  call  witnesses  to  prove  that  you  yourself  are  entitled  to  vote. 

Often  during  the  war  the  darkness  was  so  dense  that  the  path  before  us 
as  a  nation  could  not  be  seen.  But  with  the  people,  when  sight  failed, 
faith  inspired  them,  and  hand  in  hand  and  shoulder  to  shoulder,  and  with 
faces  imploringly  uplifted  to  Heaven,  they  walked  hopefully  and  safely 
through  the  gloom  that  enveloped  them.  So  let  us  do  here.  To  admit 
the  Chinaman  to  full  participation  in  the  rights  of  citizenship  may  well 
create  some  apprehension ;  but  I  would  sooner  apply  our  principles  to  him 
than  confess  them  to  be  erroneous,  and  thus  destroy  the  only  foundation 
upon  which  free  government  can  rest. 

PENSIONS  —  CORPORATIONS. 

Carpenter,  by  voice  and  vote,  supported  the  bill  to  grant 
the  widow  of  Abraham  Lincoln  a  pension  of  $3,000  per 
year.  His  speech  was  eloquent,  and  in  it  he  predicted  that 
probably  the  United  States  would  never  have  another  oppor 
tunity  to  pension  the  widow  of  an  assassinated  President; 

1  If  Carpenter  had  lived  to  run  for  the  presidency,  as  many  thought  he 
would,  he  could  not  have  carried  California. 


364  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

but  just  eleven  years  from  that  month  President  James 
A.  Garfield,  being  shot,  made  his  prophecy,  unfortunately, 
untrue. 

An  amendment  to  the  appropriation  bill  allowing  the  sec 
retary  of  the  interior  to  pay  settlers  for  property  destroyed 
by  Indian  depredations  was  opposed  on  the  ground  that  it 
was  illegal,  and  that  to  recognize  such  claims  would  be  to 
open  the  door  to  a  perpetual  list  -of  constantly-increasing 
demands  of  the  same  sort,  founded  largely  upon  fraud  or 
circumstances  for  which  the  settlers  were  primarily  blamable. 

In  advocating  the  passage  of  Senator  Sumner's  bill  to  reg 
ulate  by  act  of  congress  the  telegraph  and  cable  lines  and 
regulate  telegraphic  communication  between  the  United 
States  and  foreign  countries,  Carpenter  struck  a  popular 
chord  that  echoed  and  re-echoed  throughout  the  country, 
when  he  declared: 

This  is  an  exceedingly  important  subject,  and  without  attempting1  a  dis 
cussion  of  it  at  this  time,  I  desire  to  say  that  if  our  liberties  are  in  danger 
to-day  from  any  source  it  is  from  the  fearful  growth  of  monopolies  in  the 
country.  The  states  are  powerless  in  the  premises.  *  *  *  But  fortu 
nately  there  is  no  such  restraint  upon  the  power  of  congress.  There  is 
no  such  thing  as  a  vested  right,  in  the  technical  sense,  in  any  corporation 
created  by  congress,  which  is  beyond  the  control  of  congress.  Any 
corporation  which  congress  has  ever  created  might  be  to-day  dissolved. 

WISCONSIN  MEASURES. 

Carpenter  procured  the  passage  by  congress  of  a  measure 
to  exempt  forever  from  taxation  the  property  of  the  Taylor 
orphan  asylum  at  Racine,  Wisconsin,  a  noble  institution 
founded  by  money  bequeathed  by  Isaac  Taylor,  a  philan 
thropic  Englishman  who  landed  in  New  York  in  1828  and 
settled  in  Racine  in  1842.  Carpenter  always  had  a  deep  and 
heart-felt  interest  in  that  institution,  and  said  the  passage  of 
this  bill  gave  him  more  pleasure  than  anything  else  he  had 
done  in  congress. 


WISCONSIN   MEASURES.  365 

So  far  as  Wisconsin  is  concerned,  the  most  important 
measure  advocated  by  him l  in  congress  was  that  dividing 
the  state  into  two  judicial  districts,  the  eastern  and  the  west 
ern,  for  the  federal  courts.  The  law  left  the  records,  the 
judge  and  other  officers  with  the  former  district  at  Mil 
waukee,  and  provided  for  the  appointment  of  a  judge, 
marshal,  attorney  and  clerk  for  the  new  district.  He  recom 
mended  the  appointment  of  James  C.  Hopkins  of  Madison  as 
United  States  district  judge;  Charles  M.  Webb  of  Grand 
Rapids  as  United  States  district  attorney,  and  Frank  W. 
Oakley  as  United  States  marshal.  Against  the  passage  of 
this  bill,  Milwaukee,  his  home,  made  determined  opposition. 
But,  although  to  divide  the  state  was  contrary  to  the  pro 
fessional  interests  of  himself,  his  partner  and  his  brother  at 
torneys,  he  rose  above  all  local  and  personal  considerations 
in  obedience  to  the  sentiment  of  the  entire  commonwealth, 
and  insisted  upon  the  passage  of  the  measure. 

l  Carried  through  with  the  material  aid  of  Congressman  David  Atwood, 
of  Madison. 


366  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

FORTY-FIRST  CONGRESS,  THIRD  SESSION. 

The  third  session  of  the  forty-first  congress,  which  con 
vened  December  5,  1870,  was  less  spirited  and  important  than 
its  predecessor,  and  fewer  matters  were  considered  that 
brought  Carpenter  into  prominence. 

Senator  McCreery,  of  Kentucky,  at  an  early  day,  offered 
a  resolution  asking  for  a  joint  committee  of  five  to  investigate 
the  claim  of  Mrs.  Robert  E.  Lee  to  compensation  for  or  the 
restoration  of  Arlington  Heights,  taken  by  the  government 
for  non-payment  of  taxes  during  the  war,  and  subsequently 
used  as  a  cemetery  for  Union  soldiers.  The  resolution  pro 
posed  that  the  dead  soldiers  should  be  removed,  the  property 
restored  to  Mrs.  Lee,  together  with  full  remuneration  for  all 
trees  felled  and  property  destroyed,  all  wastage  and  loss  from 
dispossession,  and  rental  for  the  time  the  government  held  the 
estate.  Carpenter  characterized  the  measure  as  "  an  insult 
to  the  senate  of  the  United  States,"  and  voted  against  it. 

In  the  furious  and  acrimonious  debate  on  Morton's  resolu 
tion  asking  for  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  proceed  to 
San  Domingo  for  the  purpose  of  discovering  whether  it  was 
advisable  to  annex  that  island  to  the  United  States,  Carpenter 
took  little  part.  He  defended  President  Grant  from  those 
assaults  of  Sumner  which  Chandler  of  Michigan  character 
ized  (December  21,  1870),  on  the  floor  of  the  chamber,  as  the 
"  most  brutal "  he  had  heard  during  his  fourteen  years  of 
service  in  the  senate.  He  voted  for  the  resolution. 

A  "PECULIAR"  CLAIM. 

When  Senator  Davis,  of  Kentucky,  presented  a  bill  for  the 
payment  of  a  liberal  sum  to  J.  M.  Best,  of  that  state,  whose 
house  was  destroyed  by  the  federal  troops  while  in  action, 
Carpenter  renewed  his  opposition  to  the  recognition  of  any 


A  "PECULIAR"  CLAIM.  367 

so-called  southern  claims.  This  was  called  a  "  peculiar " 
case,  inasmuch  as  Best  claimed  to  have  been  loyal  in  spirit  to 
the  Union,  and  his  house  was  destroyed  by  the  Union  soldiers 
during  the  second  day  of  the  battle  at  Paducah,  to  prevent 
its  further  use  by  the  confederate  sharp-shooters.  Therefore, 
the  champions  of  the  bill  declared  that  was  "  taking  property 
for  public  use,"  and  under  the  constitution  Best  must  be  paid. 
Carpenter's  speech  on  the  question  was  one  of  the  very 
clearest  expositions  of  the  doctrines  of  peace  and  war,  and  the 
liability  of  the  United  States  to  even  those  whose  loyalty  to 
the  Union  was  manifest,  but  who  chose  to  remain  in  the  south 
and  pay  taxes  to  carry  on  the  Rebellion,  that  was  ever  uttered 
in  this  country.  He  contended: 

Every  man,  woman  or  child  in  the  districts  over  which  the  rebellious 
but  de  facto  southern  governments  exercised  control  was  a  public  enemy  of 
the  United  States.  There  was  no  recorded  instance,  so  far  as  I  knew,  of 
resistance  by  the  people  of  the  south  to  the  fiats  of  the  de  facto  govern 
ments,  and  if  the  south  had  succeeded  in  the  field,  the  independence 
of  those  states  would  have  dated  from  the  dates  of  their  respective  ordi 
nances  of  secession,  and  their  territory  and  inhabitants  would  have  been  to 
us  a  foreign  soil  and  people,  and  every  man  residing  within  their  limits, 
without  regard  to  his  sentiments  or  conduct  during  the  war,  would  have 
been  an  alien  to  the  United  States.  *  *  *  Every  person,  in  tact,  subject 
to  the  authority  of  one  of  the  contending  governments  is  a  public  enemy 
of  every  person  subject  to  the  authority  of  the  other. 

The  champions  of  Best  held  that  a  loyal  citizen  residing 
in  the  confederacy  and  having  his  property  destroyed  in 
war,  was  as  much  entitled  to  compensation  as  one  who,  re 
siding  in  the  north,  had  his  substance  taken  for  army  sup 
plies.  Carpenter  declared  this  to  be  an  absurd  principle,  as 
a  resident  of  South  Carolina  who,  though  pretending  to  be 
loyal,  should,  nevertheless,  be  drafted  into  the  confederate 
army  and  lose  an  arm  by  a  Union  bullet,  could  not  plead 
loyalty  to  establish  the  liability  of  the  government  and  thus 
go  upon  the  pension  list.  The  man  who  thus  lost  his  arm, 
he  alleged,  would  occupy  the  same  category  with  the  one 


368  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

whose  property  was  destroyed  in  battle.     He  further  con 
tended: 

War  means  destruction.  Armies  are  marched  through  hostile  territory 
to  kill,  burn,  ravage  and  lay  waste.  The  commanding  general  has  no  juris 
diction  to  determine  who  in  the  enemy's  country  is  guilty  and  who  is  in 
nocent.  He  has  but  one  duty  to  perform,  and  that  is  to  prostrate  and  reduce 
the  enemy's  country.  And  if,  while  the  war  is  raging,  no  person  within 
the  enemy's  lines  can  plead  loyalty  and  exempt  his  property,  it  is  equally 
clear  that  he  can  not,  after  the  war  has  been  concluded,  found  a  legal  claim 
against  the  government  on  what  it  was  proper  for  the  military  forces  to  do. 

In  concluding  he  said  many  of  these  cases  appealed 
strongly  to  the  sympathy,  and  that  congress  might,  in  its 
bounty,  grant  some  remuneration,  as  a  traitor  may  be  par 
doned;  but  that  no  citizen  of  the  rebellious  district  had  any 
right  to  demand  either  pardon  or  remuneration.  He  did  not 
think  it  was  even  time  to  be  generous;  that  no  appeals  from 
recent  public  enemies  should  be  heeded  until  all  the  legal  ob 
ligations  of  the  government  had  been  paid.  No  one  pre 
tended  to  answer  Carpenter's  argument,  nor  to  act  in 
opposition  to  him  upon  legal  and  constitutional  grounds ;  but 
the  bill  passed  the  senate  simply  because  the  republicans  of 
that  body  had  sufficient  numerical  strength,  regardless  of 
precedent,  decisions  and  law. 

CO-EDUCATION  OF  WHITES  AND    BLACKS. 

In  discussing  the  measure  establishing  a  system  of  educa 
tion  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  Carpenter  opposed  making 
any  distinction  on  account  of  color;  that  is,  opposed  opening 
separate  schools  for  white  and  black  children.  He  spoke 
with  considerable  eloquence  for  the  colored  race,  closing 
thus: 

We  have  said  that  these  men,  in  common  with  all  men,«hall  vote.  We 
have  said  they  shall  sit  in  the  jury-box  and  upon  the  bench ;  that  they  may 
hold  office;  and  we  have  assumed  to  destroy  all  distinctions.  If  we  insist 
upon  destroying  this  distinction  as  to  suffrage  and  holding  office,  how  ab 
surd  it  is  to  set  up  that  distinction  at  the  very  fountain  of  life,  to  abolish 


SALARIES   OF  JUDGES.  369 

which  we  have  been  amending  the   constitution  and  legislating  for  ten 
years ! 

Later  experience  has  shown  that  in  many  localities,  at 
least,  the  attempted  co-education  of  white  and  black  children 
resulted  in  perpetual  clashing  and  trouble. 

SALARIES  OF  JUDGES. 

When  the  bill  making  appropriation  for  the  judicial  ex 
penses  for  the  year  ending  June  30, 1870,  was  pending,  Car 
penter  was  again  active  in  his  efforts  to  secure  an  increase  in 
the  salaries  of  the  various  judges,  especially  those  of  the 
United  States  circuit  judges,  whose  expenses  for  travel  and 
hotel  fare  were  heavy.  He  called  attention  to  the  fact  that 
Judge  Curtis  left  the  supreme  bench  because  the  salary  of 
$6,000  was  but  a  small  portion  of  what  he  could  earn  at  the 
bar;  that  the  children  of  Chief  Justice  Roger  B.  Tariey  (who 
labored  on  the  bench  almost  thirty  years)  were  almost  beg 
gars,  and  that  England,  by  paying  liberal  salaries,  secured 
the  best  talent  within  her  borders  for  the  bench.  Senator 
Conkling  objected  to  the  proposed  increase,  upon  the  ground 
that  all  the  judges  of  a  given  class  should  not  be  paid  equally. 
Carpenter  demonstrated  quickly  how  invidious  that  would 
be,  applying  the  principle  to  members  of  the  senate  so  as  to 
make  a  senator  from  New  York  receive  $5,000,  and  one 
from  Wisconsin  $50  per  year.  He  declared: 

An  act  of  congress  providing  that  no  man  should  be  a  judge  unless  he 
had  a  certain  income  would  raise  a  mutiny  in  this  country ;  and  yet  what 
is  the  practical  difference  between  such  a  law  and  one  fixing  the  salary  so 
low  that  a  man  can  not  take  the  office  unless  he  has  that  income?  Yon 
produce  the  same  result.  *  *  *  The  feeble  voice  of  the  constitution  is 
,  heard  declaring  that  the  military  shall  be  in  strict  subordination  to  the  civil 
power;  and  yet  we  are  paying  the  general  commanding  our  armies  $16,000, 
and  to  the  chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States,  the  head 
of  the  judicial  department  of  the  government,  $6,000!  The  annual  appro 
priations  for  the  army  and  navy  are  about  $40,000,000.  This  does  not  dis 
turb  our  serenity,  but  we  stand  appalled  at  the  idea  of  appropriating  a  fifth 
part  of  it  for  the  administration  of  justice.  *  *  *  The  proposition  to 
increase  the  salary  of  our  chief  justice  to  only  two-thirds  of  the  salary  of 
the  commanding  general  of  the  army  makes  senators  turn,  pale ! 


370  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

The  bill  passed  and  increased  the  salary  of  the  chief  jus 
tice  to  $8,500,  and  of  the  associate  justices  to  $8,000,  and 
made  advances  in  other  judicial  emoluments.  In  this  as  well 
as  numerous  other  matters  undertaken  in  behalf  of  the  judi 
ciary,  he  received  hundreds  of  letters  of  thanks  from  all  por 
tions  of  the  country. 

CLAIMS. 

Carpenter  opposed  the  passage  of  a  bill  to  prohibit  any 
clerk  of  any  department  from  appearing  as  agent  or  attor 
ney  for  the  prosecution  of  any  claim  against  the  government 
within  three  years  after  leaving  the  civil  service.  Many  just 
claims  are  defeated  because  the  claimants  can  not  secure  the 
evidence  possessed  by  the  departments,  and  the  bill  was 
presented  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  clerks  from  communi 
cating  such  information.  Carpenter  regarded  such  legisla 
tion  as  dishonest,  maintaining  that  no  facility  for  doing  exact 
justice  should  be  denied  to  any  one  by  the  government  or  its 
clerks. 

When  the  claim  of  Susan  A.  Shelby,  of  Mississippi,  was 
before  the  senate,  Carpenter  expressed  his  astonishment  and 
indignation  at  the  apparent  reckless  tendency  of  congress  to 
pay  every  demand  made  by  the  south.  Mrs.  Shelby's  cot 
ton  had  been  seized  by  the  confederates  and  appropriated 
to  their  use,  but  subsequently  it  was  captured  from  them  by 
the  Union  forces  and  turned  over  to  the  treasury  depart 
ment.  He  held  that  every  person  who  could  lay  a  claim  be 
fore  congress  would  be  found,  upon  -prima  facie  evidence, 
to  have  been  loyal,  and  the  only  thing  to  do  was  to  defeat 
them  all,  at  least  for  the  time  being.  He  exclaimed: 

If  this  claim  is  to  be  passed  I  am  in  favor  of  a  general  amnesty,  a  gen 
eral  bill  to  indemnify  everybody  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  for 
everything  they  suffered  between  1861  and  1865,  and  that  will  end  the 
whole  business,  reach  the  same  result,  and  save  all  the  debate  and  time 
spent  in  congress. 


FOUR   GEORGIA   SENATORS.  37 1 

FOUR  GEORGIA  SENATORS. 

One  of  Carpenter's  speeches  which  attracted  marked  at 
tention  among  the  members  of  the  bench  and  bar  was  that 
on  admitting  the  senators  from  Georgia.  On  June  25,  1868, 
congress  passed  an  act  prescribing  the  terms  upon  which  the 
southern  states  might  re-enter  the  Union.  Georgia  com 
plied  with  the  terms,  with  other  states,  on  July  22,  1868. 
General  Meade,  in  command  of  Georgia,  issued  a  proclama 
tion  declaring  that  state  had  complied  with  all  the  provisions, 
the  legislature  had  ratified  the  act  of  June  25th,  Governor  Bul 
lock  had  been  inaugurated,  and  that  the  state  was  entitled  to 
representation  in  congress.  The  legislature  thereupon  elected 
Joshua  Hill  and  Homer  V.  M.  Miller  as  United  States 
senators. 

A  few  months  later  the  colored  members  of  the  legis 
lature  were  driven  out  and  their  democratic  opponents,  the 
minority  candidates,  were  admitted  to  seats.  Congress,  in 
December,  1869,  passed  an  act  commanding  the  governor  to 
convene  the  legislature  as  it  met  in  July,  1868,  admitting  the 
elected  colored  members  who  had  been  forcibly  excluded 
and  excluding  their  minority  white  opponents,  and  then  to 
reorganize  the  body.  This  was  done  in  January,  1870,  and 
the  reorganized  body  then  elected  Farrow  and  Whitely  to 
represent  the  state  in  the  United  States  senate.  Hill,  Miller, 
Farrow  and  Whitely  presented  their  credentials  and  prayed 
for  admission. 

The  judiciary  committee  decided  that  Hill  and  Miller  were 
entitled  to  seats.  When  the  report  was  under  consideration, 
a  motion  was  made  to  substitute  the  names  of  Farrow  and 
Whitely  for  those  of  Hill  and  Miller,  and  on  this  question 
Carpenter  made  his  argument.  The  friends  of  the  former 
contestants  contended  that  the  legislature,  as  organized  in 
1868,  was  illegal;  that  therefore  its  acts  were  void,  and  that 
the  only  persons  elected  as  senators  entitled  to  seats  were 
those  chosen  after  the  reorganization  in  1870.  Carpenter 
made  a  clear  and  powerful  legal  argument  to  show  that  every 


372  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

act  of  the  legislature  of  1868  was  legal,  and  then  prooeeded 
to  rend  in  tatters  the  claims  of  Farrow  and  Whitely. 

All  the  state  officers  and  judges  appointed  by  the  legisla 
ture  as  organized  in  1868  had  acted  and  were  still  acting  as 
legal  officials,  and  all  laws  passed  had  stood  unchallenged  by 
the  courts;  therefore,  the  senators  then  chosen  must  be  the 
legal  senators.  He  punctured  all  of  Farrow's  and  Whitely's 
claims,  when  he  showed  that  the  former  was  appointed  at 
torney-general  of  Georgia  at  the  same  time  Hill  and  Miller 
were  chosen  senators,  and  by  the  same  legislature,  and  that 
he  for  two  years  thereafter  exercised  the  duties  of  the  office, 
although  now  he  claimed  the  right  to  a  seat  in  the  senate, 
instead  of  Hill,  because  the  legislature  was  illegal.  Carpen 
ter  said  Farrow  evidently  thought  the  old  legislature  was 
legal  enough  to  make  him  attorney-general  of  Georgia,  but 
not  legal  enough  to  elect,  at  the  same  time,  Joshua  Hill  as 
United  States  senator.  Hill  was  admitted;  also,  soon  after, 
Miller. 

THE  IRON-CLAD  OATH. 

A  still  aoler  constitutional  argument  was  made  by  Car 
penter  in  February,  when  Miller  presented  himself  to  be 
sworn  in.  It  was  proposed  to  compel  him  to  take  the  iron 
clad  oath,  prescribed  by  congress  July  2,  1862,  in  which  the 
affiant  declares  he  has  "  never  voluntarily  borne  arms  against 
the  United  States,  or  given  aid,  countenance,  counsel  or  en 
couragement  to  persons  engaged  in  armed  hostility  thereto." 
Miller  objected  to  this  oath,  as  he  had,  as  a  physician  and 
surgeon,  attended  the  sick  and  wounded  in  the  confederate 
army,  and  therefore  had  thus  given  aid  to  the  enemies 
of  the  United  States.  Carpenter  sustained  this  objection. 
He  argued  that  to  compel  Miller  to  take  this  oath  would 
either  make  him  a  perjurer,  or  exclude  him  from  the  sen 
ate,  and  that  that  was  inflicting  punishment  without 
indictment,  trial  and  conviction  first  had,  which  was  uncon 
stitutional.  Morton  interjected  that  the  constitution  saved  a 
man  from  trial  without  an  indictment,  but  did  not  save  him 
from  punishment.  This  logic  Carpenter  ridiculed  in  a  very 


SMOTHERED    MEASURES.  373 

sharp  manner,  and,  after  answering  all  the  points  of  the 
opposition  upon  strictly  legal  grounds,  he  quoted  the  procla 
mation  of  general  amnesty  issued  by  President  Johnson 
December  25,  I868,1  which  granted  to  all  engaged  in  the 
Rebellion,  except  those  under  indictment  and  trial,  a  full  and 
free  pardon  for  the  offense  of  treason  against  the  United 
States.  This,  of  course,  applied  to  Miller,  and  rendered  it 
impossible  to  compel  him  to  suffer  by  reason  of  refusing  to 
take  the  iron-clad  oath.  It  was  then,  as  the  only  thing  left 
to  do,  contended  that  this  proclamation  was  unconstitutional, 
but  Carpenter  quoted  the  similar  proclamations  of  general 
amnesty  by  Presidents  Washington  and  Adams,  and  of  all 
the  kings  and  sovereigns  of  Europe,  and  demonstrated  that 
the  pardoning  power  resided  safely  and  without  limit,  except 
as  to  impeachment,  in  the  President,  by  virtue  of  the  consti 
tution,  and  that  Miller  had,  therefore,  been  fully  and  freely 
pardoned. 

All  of  this  was  incontrovertible,  and  Miller  was  allowed, 
by  a  vote  of  twenty-eight  to  twenty,  to  take  his  seat  upon 
subscribing  to  the  oath  ordinarily  administered  to  members 
of  congress.  The  argument  made  by  Carpenter  in  support 
of  hie  position  was  one  of  conceded  ability,  and  its  soundness 
was  unqualifiedly  alleged  by  members  of  the  various  federal 

courts. 

SMOTHERED  MEASURES. 

Carpenter  presented  several  bills  to  amend  the  bankrupt 
laws  in  the  interest  of  creditors  and  to  prevent  fraud.  The 
last  one  was  reported  without  amendment  from  the  judiciary 
committee,  March  3,  1871,  one  day  before  adjournment  and 
during  a  temporary  illness  of  its  author,  and  so  was  allowed 
to  die.  It  was  during  this  illness  that  the  resolution  requiring 
a  report  on  the  authority  of  congress  to  regulate  railway 
transportation  between  the  states,  which  was  particularly  in 
his  charge,  was  smothered,  or  disposed  of  without  action. 

iThe  proclamation  that  Carpenter  generally  referred  to  as  "Johnson's 
Christmas  carols,"  because  it  was  issued  on  the  25th  of  December. 


374  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

FORTY-SECOND  CONGRESS. 

During  the  first  session  of  the  forty-second  congress,  which 
convened  March  4,  1871,  Carpenter  took  but  little  part  in  the 
debates.  He  opposed  the  bill  proposing  to  organize  a  com 
mission  with  clerks,  stenographers  and  attorneys,  to  examine 
and  report  upon  the  constantly-increasing  number  of  southern 
claims.  His  reasons  were  that  such  a  course  would  be  urged 
in  future  congresses  as  a  partial  recognition  of  those  claims, 
and  all  that  remained  was  to  pay  them.  He  cited  the  judg 
ment  of  the  supreme  court  in  a  similar  case,  to  the  effect  that 
a  commission  organized  by  the  proper  authority  to  make  such 
an  investigation  and  report  was  semi-judicial,  and  its  awards 
binding.  He  said  in  closing  his  argument  against  the  bill: 

Here  is  a  drag-net  thrown  over  this  whole  subject;  here  is  a  bag  opened, 
into  which  this  whole  ocean  of  claims  is  to  be  plunged,  and  they  are  to  be 
dragged  in  here  and  put  upon  the  basis  of  judgments  rendered  against  the 
United  States  by  a  tribunal  of  its  own  creation.  I  never  will  vote  for  the 
bill  with  such  a  clause  in  it. 

While  the  bill  "  to  protect  life  and  property  in  the  south  " 
was  pending,  it  received  strong  opposition  from  the  democrats 
under  Thurman's  leadership,  upon  the  ground  that  congress 
could  not,  under  the  constitution,  legislate  affirmatively  to 
protect  the  individual  in  his  rights  of  person  and  of  property. 
In  his  argument  under  the  fourteenth  amendment  Carpenter 
maintained  that  congress  could  so  legislate,  saying: 

I  think  therein  is  one  of  the  fundamental,  one  of  the  great,  the  tremen 
dous  revolutions  effected  in  our  government  by  the  amended  constitution. 
It  gives  congress  affirmative  power  to  protect  the  rights  of  the  citizen, 
whereas  before  no  such  right  was  given,  *  *  *  and  the  only  remedj 
was  a  judicial  one  when  the  case  arose. 

This  measure,  one  of  the  most  important  ever  crystallized 
into  a  statute  for  the  protection  of  the  colored  people  against 
the  atrocious  scourges  and  butcheries  by  ku  klux  klans  and 


SPECIAL   SESSION  —  A   STORMY    PERIOD.  375 

similar  organizations,  was  in  many  ways  perfected  and; 
strengthened  by  Carpenter.  His  services  in  that  respect  will 
never  cease  to  be  felt  by  the  freedmen. 

SPECIAL  SESSION  — A  STORMY  PERIOD. 

On  the  loth  day  of  May,  1871,  President  Grant  convened 
the  senate  in  special  session  for  the  purpose  of  confirming 
the  Treaty  of  Washington,  made  by  the  commissioners 
of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain.  Carpenter  was  the 
prominent  figure  of  this  well-remembered  session,  and  in 
following  unswervingly  what  he  believed  to  be  his  line  of 
duty,  laid  the  foundation  for  one  of  the  most  vicious  and 
wanton  attacks  ever  directed  by  an  unbridled  and  angry 
press  upon  any  man  of  equal  prominence  in  America. 

In  considering  treaties  (except  those  made  with  the  Indian 
tribes)  the  deliberations  and  debates  of  the  senate  of  the 
United  States  are  to  be  in  secret,  and  the  treaties  are  to  re 
main  secret  until  after  they  have  been  confirmed.  On  the 
morning  of  the  convocation  of  the  senate,  the  treaty  under 
consideration  was  published  in  full  in  the  New  York  Tribune. 
Either  a  senator,  or  an  employe  of  the  senate,  or  some  at 
tache  of  the  state  department,  had  violated  his  trust,  else  the 
Tribune  could  not  have  obtained  a  copy  of  the  treaty.  There 
fore,  in  order  to  discover  who  had  been  derelict,  a  committee, 
consisting  of  Carpenter,  Charles  Sumner,  Roscoe  Conkling, 
Garrett  Davis  and  Lyman  Trumbull,  was  appointed  to  enter 
upon  an  investigation  of  the  matter. 

The  two  Washington  correspondents  of  the  Tribune  were 
summoned  before  the  committee.  They  said  they  had  full 
knowledge  of  who  was  guilty  of  divulging  the  treaty,  but 
refused  to  give  any  other  or  further  testimony.  This  fact 
the  committee  reported  to  the  senate,  and  through  Carpenter 
recommended  that  the  contumacious  witnesses  be  committed 
to  jail  for  contempt.  On  this  the  senate  quivered  and  split. 
The  newspapers  had  begun  to  abuse  and  ridicule,  its  leaders, 
and  many  of  its  members  had  received  letters  saying  the 


LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

press  was  a  unit  on  the  pending  matter,  and  that  whoever 
should  persist  in  the  attempt  to  compel  the  correspondents 
to  divulge  their  professional  secrets,  would  earn  the  eternal 
ill-will  of  the  newspapers.  Carpenter  received  numerous  let 
ters  of  this  class,  some  of  which  gave  warning  that  he  must 
at  once  drop  the  investigation  or  the  press  "  would  never  rest 
until  it  had  ruined  him." 

Those  letters,  which  seemed  to  have  had  the  desired  effect 
upon  nearly  all  save  Carpenter,  were  referred  to  and  exhibited 
by  him  on  the  floor  of  the  senate  to  show  by  indubitable  proof 
the  disreputable  methods  of  the  press.  He  declared  that  he 
did  not  believe  a  man  could  be  ruined  for  doing  right  and 
his  duty,  and  boldly  exposed  all  the  threats  and  infamies 
of  his  newspaper  assailants.  He  alleged,  on  the  floor  of 
the  senate,  that  he  had  concluded  the  publication  of  the 
treaty  was  made  through  a  senator,  and  that  if  the  com 
mittee  could  be  left  unhampered,  that  fact  would  be  fully 
established.  But  the  senate,  quailing  under  the  lash  of 
the  correspondents,  and  without  the  moral  courage  to  sustain 
Carpenter  in  what  they  themselves  had  ordered  him  to  do, 
voted  to  nominally  confine  the  recusant  witnesses  in  a  com 
mittee-room,  instead  of  the  common  jail,  afcd  feed  them  at 
public  expense  until  they  should  purge  themselves  of  con 
tempt. 

He  showed  how  futile  such  a  course  would  be,  alleging 
that  the  men  would  never  answer  under  such  circumstances, 
and  the  senate  would  only  be  driven  down  into  still  deeper 
contempt.  Every  word  of  this  proved  true,  for  after  "  nom 
inally  "  keeping  the  men  in  the  best  committee-room  in  the 
capitol  several  days,  during  which  their  continued  newspaper 
assaults  on  the  senators  became  fuller  of  malignity  and  false 
hood,  they  were  discharged,  and  the  questions  were  never 
answered.  "  Two  reporters,"  Carpenter  then  stated,  "  had 
blockaded,  maligned,  bulldozed,  brought  into  public  con 
tempt,  and  finally  put  to  rout,  the  senate  of  the  United 
States." 


SPECIAL   SESSION  —  A   STORMY   PERIOD.  377 

While  the  resolution  to  discharge  the  correspondents  was 
pending,  and  which  he  opposed  as  an  evidence  of  cowardice 
and  defeat,  Carpenter  made  some  remarks  that  confirmed 
the  determination  of  the  press  "  never  to  rest  until  it  had 
ruined  him."  Among  other  things,  he  said  that  while  he  had 
never  been  able  to  secure  a  committee-room  for  his  public 
business,  and  in  which  to  meet  his  constituents,  "  These  con 
tumacious  correspondents  had  luxuriated  in  the  finest  apart 
ments  in  the  structure,  with  attendants  to  usher  in  the 
sympathizing  statesmen  who  desired  audience  with  them." 
Also: 

Why,  sir,  the  other  day  a  senator  was  in  the  restaurant  below  taking  his 
lunch,  when  the  doors  were  suddenly  thrown  open  and  the  servants  entered 
with  imposing  ceremony,  whirling  the  largest  table  into  the  center  of  the 
room,  and  covering  it  with  a  cloth,  in  imitation  of  the  fine  linen  with  which 
Dives  was  furnished  when  enjoying  his  "  good  things  in  this  world."  The 
senator,  astonished  at  such  elaborate  preparation,  inquired  what  it  all  meant. 
He  was  informed  that  the  hour  had  arrived  when  the  Washington  corre 
spondents  of  the  New  York  Tribune^  with  their  families,  were  to  dine.  The 
senator  rose  from  his  unfinished  lunch  on  a  naked  table  and  slunk  away 
with  the  humility  that  should  ever  characterize  a  senator  in  the  august  pres 
ence  of  the  press. 

Then,  turning  his  attention  to  the  man  who  was  upholding 
and  urging  on  the  correspondents,  he  said: 

The  New  York  Tribune  is  an  alias  for  Horace  Greeley,  a  gentleman  for 
whom  I  cherish  the  highest  respect.  He  has  shown  me  many  acts  of  kind 
ness  (for  in  this  cruel  world  justice  is  sometimes  kindness),  which  I  shall 
never  forget.  But  I  desire  to  say  that,  during  the  period  of  this  investiga 
tion,  while  this  newspaper  has  been  filled  with  articles  about  equally  com 
pounded  of  folly  and  falsehood,  all  inspired  by  malice,  the  New  York 
Tribune  has  been  away  from  home,  delivering  addresses  of  conciliation  in 
the  south,  in  obedience  to  the  impulses  of  his  own  good  heart.  Still  the 
paper  goes  on,  living  and  moving  under  the  impetus  given  it  by  his  intel 
lect,  his  wisdom  and  his  great  standing  with  the  press  and  American  people; 
and  this,  notwithstanding  it  has  been  left  to  the  management  of  Whitelaw 
Reid,  a  fop  and  frivolous  pretender,  of  whom  a  contemporary  journal  re 
cently  had  the  following  paragraph : 

"Whitelaw  Reid  was  seen  on  the  streets  again  yesterday  with  men's 
clothes  on.  Where's  the  police?  " 


LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

Thus  the  wrath  of  Whitelaw  Reid  was  added  to  the 
malice  of  the  underlings.  For  several  months,  and  in  fact 
for  years  thereafter,  whenever  Carpenter  moved  from  one 
city  to  another,  made  a  public  address,  conducted  a  suit,  or 
in  any  way  appeared  so  plainly  before  the  public  as  to  be 
sighted  by  the  sleuths  who  had  sworn  to  "  ruin  him,"  the 
flood-gates  were  lifted  anew  and  their  vile  accumulations 
were  poured  forth,  poisoning  the  public  atmosphere  and  scat 
tering  a  pestilence  of  falsehood  among  the  people.  This 
was  continued  until  Carpenter  would  have  no  intercourse, 
either  professional  or  otherwise,  with  the  newspaper  fra 
ternity,  except  with  a  few  whose  honor  he  had  tried.  He 
entertained  no  ill-feeling  toward  them,  he  often  said,  but 
could  not  trust  them. 

While,  as  a  general  rule,  the  journalists  of  the  country 
comprise  an  honorable  class,  the  public  begins  to  understand 
that  many  of  the  roving  Bohemians  and  correspondents  are 
depraved  and  disreputable  jackals,  almost  without  responsi 
bility  to  society,  man,  God  or  the  law,  who  suck  a  liveli 
hood  from  public  characters  by  blackmailing  the  lions  and 
puffing  the  weevils. 

It  is  impossible  to  conceive  how  any  person  could  be  made 
to  suffer  more  unjustly  than  Carpenter  suffered  by  and 
through  this  investigation.  He  was  becoming  not  only  an 
influential  and  powerful  leader  in  the  senate,  but  a  popular 
figure  before  the  public.  The  old  senatorial  leaders  —  or 
some  of  them, —  jealous  of  his  increasing  power  and  popu 
larity,  which  had  already  begun  to  out-reach  and  out-shine 
them,  contrived  the  villainy  —  knowing  his  fearlessness  and 
thoroughness  in  all  undertakings  —  of  putting  him  at  the 
head  of  an  investigating  committee  which  they  knew  would 
exasperate  and  call  down  the  venom  of  the  press.  When 
this  had  been  accomplished,  some  of  them  carried  their  dis 
honor  to  the  extent  of  actively  aiding  the  correspondents  in 
the  work  of  destroying  Carpenter,  even  going  so  far  as  to 
violate  their  senatorial  oaths  by  disclosing  to  the  reporters 


SPECIAL   SESSION  —  A   STORMY    PERIOD.  379 

what  he  had  said  in  executive  (secret)  session. »  A  mild  par 
agraph  from  an  indignant  speech  by  Senator  Nye  will  illus 
trate  how  the  scheme  was  carried  out: 

Why  did  you  send  my  friend  from  New  York  [Mr.  Conkling]  and  my 
friend  from  Wisconsin  [Mr.  Carpenter]  out  to  gather  anything  but  sheep's 
wool?  Why  did  you  send  them  to  feed  on  the  vapor  of  nothingness,  while 
you  yourself  were  feasting  upon  the  milder  and  more  nutritious  nutriment 
of  the  support  of  the  public  press?  Why  do  you  start  others  out  on  this 
forlorn  hope  and  keep  your  column  back?  Sir,  if  the  honorable  senator 
from  Massachusetts  thought  this  investigation  ought  not  to  have  been  had, 
why  did  he  not  say  so  when  it  was  proposed?  Here  he  is,  with  twenty 
years  of  ripe  experience  in  this  body;  when  he  looks  around  he  can  see  no 
man  who  came  here  with  him.  Why  did  he  not  rise  and  tell  me,  one,  in 
the  classic  language  of  the  Tribune,  whose  senatorial  pin-feathers  are  just 
cutting  —  why  did  he  not  tell  me  that  this  rule  was  a  farce  and  a  humbug, 
and  all  wrong?  He  did  not.  He  voted  to  have  this  examination  held,  and 
I,  child-like,  followed  him. 

Now,  when  the  danger  of  paper  bullets  comes,  he  says  it  was  all  a  hum 
bug  from  the  start.  The  senator  has  got  us,  as  my  friend  his  colleague 
says,  into  a  scrape. 

The  investigation  occupied  almost  the  entire  attention  of 
the  senate  during  the  special  session,  and  was  the  principal 
theme  of  newspaper  and  personal  discussion  throughout  the 
country.  The  illegitimate  results  of  Carpenter's  fearless 
course  in  the  matter  were  not  in  years  fully  purged  from  the 
public  mind.  But  his  name  will  be  familiar  to  the  readers  of 
American  history  as  long  as  the  English  language  shall  last, 
while  those  who  rode  into  temporary  notoriety  by  their 
revengeful  accusations  against  him  have  already  sunk  into 
that  oblivion  which  their  infamy  so  richly  deserved. 


380  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

FORTY-SECOND  CONGRESS —  SECOND  SESSION. 

The  second  session  of  the  forty-second  congress,  which  met 
December  4,  1871,  was  one  of  considerable  length  and  im 
portance,  and  Carpenter  was  an  active  and  influential  partici 
pant  in  its  proceedings. 

When  the  question  of  procuring  a  site  for  the  new  custom 
house  at  Chicago  was  pending,  he  maintained  that  it  was 
not  judicious  for  the  government  to  condemn  property  for 
public  buildings  through  the  instrumentality  of  state  legisla 
tion,  as,  in  his  opinion,  congress  had  the  power  to  exercise 
the  right  of  eminent  domain  in  all  such  cases. 

The  committee  on  foreign  relations  reported  a  bill  allowing 
the  Japanese  government  to  send  six  students  to  the  United 
States  Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  and  providing  that 
the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  institution  might  be  sus 
pended  from  operating  upon  them.  Carpenter  declared  it 
would  not  do  to  establish  "  a  foreign  aristocracy  inside  the 
school,"  whose  chief  charm  and  benefit  arose  from  the  fact 
that  in  it  the  rich  and  the  poor  met  on  a  common  level. 
Through  his  efforts  the  bill  was  so  amended  that  the  Jap 
anese  could  only  enter  upon  the  same  footing  (except  as  to 
scholarship)  as  Americans. 

GILT-EDGE   VAGARIES. 

He  was  thoroughly  opposed  to  the  various  schemes  and 
experiments  called  "  civil  service  reform  "  which  occupied  a 
great  deal  of  attention.  He  declared  from  the  first  that 
"  these  gilt-edge  vagaries  will  prove  a  humbug,"  and  intro 
duced  this  resolution: 

WHEREAS,  The  constitution  of  the  United  States  requires  the  President 
to  nominate,  and,  by  and  with  the  consent  of  the  senate,  to  appoint  all  offi 
cers  of  the  United  States  whose  appointments  are  not  in  said  constitution 


GILT-EDGE    VAGARIES.  381 

otherwise  provided  for,  and  which  shall  be  established  by  law,  subject  to 
the  power  of  congress  by  law  to  vest  the  appointment  of  such  inferior 
officers  as  they  may  think  proper  in  the  President  alone,  in  the  courts  of 
law,  or  in  the  heads  of  departments:  Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  any  law  or  regulation  which  is  designed  to  relieve  the 
President,  and,  in  the  cases  pertaining  to  them,  the  courts  of  law  or  heads 
of  departments  of  the  full  responsibility  of  such  nominations  or  appoint 
ments,  is  in  violation  of  the  constitution. 

President  Grant  had  appointed  a  commission  which  re 
ported  a  set  of  rules  for  appointing  to  federal  positions, 
without  regard  to  politics,  only  such  persons  as  could  pass  a 
prescribed  examination.  Carpenter  opposed  this  with  great 
force.  He  ridiculed  the  idea  that  if  the  proposed  "  commis 
sion  "  should  advertise  for  applicants  to  be  collector  of  the 
port  of  New  York,  such  men  as  A.  T.  Stewart,  Marshall 
O.  Roberts,  Henry  G.  Stebbins,  etc.,  would  go  to  Washing 
ton  and  submit  to  a  ridiculous  examination  in  non-essentials. 
Such  men,  he  said,  would  make  splendid  collectors,  but  only 
"  adventurers  and  men  of  no  condition  or  importance  "  would 
go  to  the  examinations.  He  also  submitted  that  any  scheme 
to  divide  the  legitimate  fruits  of  victory  with  the  enemy 
"  \vould  defeat  any  party  that  should  adopt  it,"  and  that  as 
a  general  amnesty  bill  was  about  to  be  passed,  giving  the 
late  rebels  the  privilege  of  voting  and  holding  office,  it  would 
be  party  suicide  to  pass  a  civil  service  reform  bill  which 
would  allow  the  enemies  of  the  colored  people,  of  recon 
struction,  of  civil  rights,  of  the  election  laws  and  of  the 
policy  of  the  administration,  to  be  put  in  office  to  execute  the 
laws  they  had  hated  and  defied.  He  said: 

If  a  person  who  opposes  the  policy  of  the  government  is  to  be  appointed 
instead  of  one  who  supports  it,  provided  he  can  pass  a  better  examination 
upon  irrelevant  and  non-essential  subjects,  is  anv  man  sanguine  enough  to 
believe  that  the  acts  of  congress  will  be  faithfully  executed  and  that  the 
rights  of  four  or  five  millions  of  colored  people  in  the  southern  states  will 
be  protected  against  overwhelming  numbers  determined  to  trample  them 
under  foot? 

He  also  opposed  the  scheme  because  it  would  shut  out 
from  an  equal  chance  at  the  federal  patronage  all  maimed 


382  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

soldiers  who  might  be  capable  of  performing  numerous 
duties,  "yet  could  not  satisfactorily  pass  an  absurd  ordeal 
concocted  by  visionary  reformers."  As  the  report  of  the 
"  commission  "  declared  the  method  of  making  appointments 
then  in  vogue  was  corrupt,  Carpenter  asked  who  could  ex 
pect  a  commission  of  six  or  seven  could  be  more  honest  than 
the  President,  the  heads  of  departments  and  the  three  hun 
dred  members  of  congress,  who  had  the  appointing  power 
in  their  hands.  He  voted  against  the  measure  and  against 
the  appropriation  for  the  civil  service  commission,  and  later 
in  the  session  introduced  an  amendment  to  the  appropriation 
bill  repealing  the  civil  service  law,  but  it  was  defeated  by  a 
vote  of  twenty-nine  to  twenty-one.  The  "  commission," 
however,  was  ineffective  and  short-lived. 

THE  CHICAGO  FIRE 

A  bill  was  presented  by  the  senators  from  Illinois  to  relieve 
the  sufferers  by  the  great  fire  of  1871  in  Chicago.  Carpen 
ter  offered  an  amendment  providing  for  similar  relief  to 
Peshtigo,  Marinette,  Minnekaunee,  Rosier  e,  and  other  places 
in  Wisconsin  destroyed  by  fires  at  about  the  same  time.  He 
was  thereupon  classed  as  "  an  enemy  to  Chicago,"  and  was 
vigorously  attacked  as  such  by  the  Chicago  papers.  In  sup 
porting  his  amendment,  which  was  defeated,  he  said: 

The  fire  at  Chicago  fell  upon  property  —  a  loss  that  capital  can  repair, — 
while  it  is  estimated  by  those  best  informed  that  in  seven  counties  of  Wis 
consin  over  twelve  hundred  persons  lost  their  lives,  so  that  families  were 
left,  in  many  instances,  without  father  or  husband,  left  destitute  upon  farms 
without  houses,  fences  or  utensils,  and  in  many  instances  the  soil  has  been 
destroyed  by  the  fire  to  two  or  three  inches  below  the  surface.  These  are 
sufferings  which  capital  can  not  immediately  repair.  I  protest  against  be 
ing  classed  as  an  enemy  of  Chicago  or  an  enemy  of  this  bill  because  I 
suggest  to  the  senate  that  I  will  move  to  extend  the  relief  intended  by  this 
bill  to  embrace  my  own  constituents,  who  suffered  at  the  same  time  and 
from  the  same  causes. 

The  bill  proposed  to  remit  the  duties  on  all  goods  imported 
for  the  purpose  of,  and  used  in,  rebuilding  Chicago.  He 


383 

voted  against  this  as  contravening  the  constitution,  which 
declares  that  "  all  duties,  imposts  and  excises  shall  be  uniform 
throughout  the  United  States."  He  also  showed  how  the 
bill  was  not  a  measure  of  relief  for  the  real  sufferers,  for 
merchants  who  lost  their  all  could  not,  under  it,  renew  their 
stocks  free  of  duty,  nor  would  those  who,  being  poor  and 
unable  to  rebuild .  their  burned  shanties,  be  relieved  in  the 
remotest  degree.  "  But,"  he  said,  "  William  B.  Astor  may 
go  to-morrow  to  Chicago  and  buy  up  all  the  lots  of  the 
poor  at  such  prices  as  they  may  be  forced  to  take,  and  build 
up  palaces  where  the  sufferers  were  unable  to  erect  shanties; 
and  thus  would  the  bill  be  of  vast  pecuniary  benefit  to  this 
nabob,  but  afford  no  relief  to  the  poor.  It  is  unjust." 

SUMNER'S  CIVIL  RIGHTS  BILL. 

At  the  opening  of  the  session  Charles  Sumner  presented 
an  amnesty  and  civil  rights  bill.  It  proposed  amnesty  to  the 
participants  in  the  Rebellion  and  protection  of  the  colored 
men  in  their  legal  rights.  Carpenter  opposed  the  clause 
which  proposed  to  regulate  by  federal  law  the  qualification 
of  jurors  in  state  courts  and  the  one  declaring  Negroes 
should  be  excluded  from  no  church  or  cemetery,  as  unconsti 
tutional.  He  also  opposed  an  unconditional  and  unlimited 
amnesty  to  rebels,  saying  it  was  "  a  bill  to  re-enforce  the  dem 
ocratic  party,"  and  that  "within  twelve  months  after  its 
passage  Jefferson  Davis  would  be  returned  to  a  seat  in  the 
senate  chamber."  He  privately  requested  Surnner  to  re 
move  these  objections  from  the  bill,  but  was  met  with  a 
refusal.  He  therefore  opposed  the  measure  with  consider 
able  force,  and  once  more  kindled  the  anger  of  Sumner,  who 
again  arraigned  him  for  having  called  the  declaration  of  in 
dependence  "  a  revolutionary  pronunciamento,"  and  all  the 
old  animosities  of  that  occasion  were  revived.  Carpenter 
thought  congress  had  no  power  to  legislate  to  control  church 
and  religious  organizations,  but  declared  that  "  every  colored 
man  should  have  equal  rights  in  the  public  schools,  and  from 


384  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

that  point  he  hoped  the  republican  party  would  never  back 
one  inch."     He  further  contended: 

Let  it  also  be  remembered  that  as  soon  as  it  be  conceded  that  the  political 
power  may  intervene  to  promote  the  interests  of  true  religion  the  ground 
work  of  religious  freedom  is  surrendered.  No  government  ever  interfered, 
except  in  the  interest  of  what  it  assumed  to  be  the  interest  of  true  religion. 
It  is  upon  this  assumption  alone  that  different  sects  have  persecuted  each 
other.  Fagots  have  always  been  lighted  round  the  martyr  to  shed  the 
light  of  truth  upon  heresy  and  error.  I  fully  concur  with  the  senator  that 
any  church  which  denies  its  rights,  ceremonies  and  sacraments  to  any  true 
believer  on  the  ground  of  color  dishonors  the  Master  in  whose  name  it  pro 
fesses  to  act.  But  the  precise  question  is,  whether  the  senator  and  myself, 
being  in  congress,  have  any  constitutional  power  to  enforce  our  theories 
upon  those  who  may  conscientiously  differ  with  us. 

He  then  proposed  this  amendment: 

Whoever,  being  a  corporation  or  natural  person  and  owner,  or  in  charge 
of  any  public  inn  or  of  any  place  of  public  amusement  or  entertainment  for 
which  a  license  from  anv  legal  authority  is  required,  or  of  anv  line  of  stage 
coaches,  railroad,  or  other  means  of  public  carriage  of  passengers  or  freight, 
or  of  any  cemetery  or  other  benevolent  institution,  or  any  public  school 
supported  at  public  expense  or  by  endowment  for  public  use,  shall  make 
any  distinction  as  to  admission  or  accommodation  therein  of  any  citizen  ot 
the  United  States  because  of  race,  color,  nationality  or  previous  condition 
of  servitude,  shall,  on  conviction  thereof,  be  fined  not  less  than  $500 
or  more  than  $5,000  for  each  offense,  to  be  recovered  by  information 
filed  by  the  district  attorney  in  any  court  having  jurisdiction,  upon  the  com 
plaint  of  any  person  injured,  one-half  to  the  use  of  the  United  States,  and 
one-half  to  the  use  ot  the  complainant. 

A  few  New  England  senators,  who  felt  bound  to  follow 
Sumner,  voted  with  him  and  the  democrats  against  this 
amendment  and  defeated  it.  Carpenter  continued  his  efforts, 
however,  until  by  a  vote  of  thirty-four  to  twenty-nine  the 
words  "churches"  and  "church  organizations"  were  stricken 
from  the  bill.  He  then-  proposed  and  secured  the  adoption 
by  the  senate  of  an  amendment  providing  "that  every  discrim 
ination  against  any  person  on  account  of  color  by  the  use  of 
the  word  c  white,'  in  any  law,  statute,  ordinance  or  regulation, 
is  hereby  repealed  and  annulled." 


NOURISHING   HIS   ENEMIES.  385 

LESSER   MATTERS. 

At  this  session  Carpenter  secured  the  passage  of  a  bill 
allowing  that  giant  corporation,  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee 
&  St.  Paul  Railway  Company,  to  build  a  railway  bridge 
across  the  Mississippi  river  at  La  Crc/sse,  Wisconsin. 

Alert,  as  he  always  was,  to  strengthen  and  improve  the  ju 
diciary  and  facilitate  the  administration  of  justice,  he  presented 
and  urged  through  the  senate  a  bill  allowing  the  President 
to  accept  the  resignation  of  any  judge,  thus  retiring  him 
upon  the  usual  pay,  who  should  be  disabled  before  arriving 
at  the  age  of  seventy  years.  Otherwise  a  judge  unable  to 
perform  his  duties  at  fifty,  might,  being  poor,  hold  his  seat 
until  seventy,  thus  preventing  the  appointment  of  a  successor 
and  blockading  justice  in  his  court.  The  measure  failed  in 
the  house. 

When,  in  discussing  the  legislative  appropriation  bill,  he 
arrived  at  the  clause  providing  for  the  establishment  of  a 
bureau  of  education,  Carpenter  opposed  it  as  unconstitutional. 
He  declared  that  under  the  constitution  congress  had  no  more 
power  to  establish  the  bureau  of  agriculture  or  a  bureau  of 
education  than  a  bureau  of  boots  and  shoes,  and  voted  against 
the  measure. 

NOURISHING   HIS  ENEMIES. 

It  was  a  matter  of  common  fame  that  for  years  Carpenter 
and  Andrew  G.  Miller,  judge  of  the  United  States  district 
court  for  the  eastern  district  of  Wisconsin,  were  so  little  in 
love  with  each  other  as  not  to  be  on  speaking  terms.  In  fact 
Carpenter  never  had  such  a  long-standing  disagreement  with 
any  person  as  with  Judge  Miller.  Therefore,  when  Senator 
Trumbull  offered  to  amend  the  appropriation  bill  so  as  to  in 
crease  the  pay  of  United  States  district  judges  to  $5,000  per 
year,  Carpenter  was  given  a  more  conspicuous  opportunity 
than  he  had  ever  before  met  of  demonstrating  his  lofty  views 
of  public  action  —  his  utter  contempt  for  personal  influence 
in  proceeding  with  the  duties  of  senator.  Usually  the  public 
25 


386  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

has  no  means  of  knowing  the  motive  or  the  power  that  con 
trols  the  acts  and  votes  of  a  public  official ;  but  when  a  senator 
is  seen  to  vote  to  enlarge  the  salary,  to  increase  the  strength 
and  nourishment  of  his  long-time  and  well-known  enemy, 
whereas,  by  making  with  dozens  of  his  fellows  the  plea  of 
economy,  he  could  so  easily  have  avoided  it,  all  must  under 
stand  that  he  is  a  statesman  far  above  warping  or  guiding 
his  career  by  personal  likes  and  dislikes.  In  advocacy  of 
Trumbull's  amendment  he  said: 

Some  senators  have  alluded  to  and  lauded  the  judge  of  the  district  in 
which  they  reside ;  from  which  it  might  be  supposed  that  they  were  actu 
ated  in  voting  this  increase  of  salary  by  motives  of  friendship  to  or  admira 
tion  for  the  present  incumbent.  I  am  not  at  all  influenced  in  that  way. 
The  judge  of  the  district  in  which  I  reside  is  not  a  friend  of  mine,  and  I  am 
not  a  friend  of  his.  He  thinks  I  am  unfit  to  be  a  senator,  and  I  think  he  is 
unfit  to  be  a  judge.  In  court  I  pay  him  the  deference  due  to  the  office  of 
judge,  and  he  shows  me  the  respect  due  to  a  member  of  the  bar;  but  out  of 
court  neither  recognizes  the  other.  But,  sir,  I  know  the  amount  of  labor 
performed  by  him,  the  number  of  cases  he  decides,  the  time  spent  by  him 
in  holding  court,  and  I  know  that  $5,000  per  annum  is  even  less  than  a  just 
compensation  for  his  services,  and  I  should  hold  myself  entirely  unfit  for  a 
seat  in  this  body  if  I  were  capable  of  doing  injustice  to  him  because  he  is 
not  my  friend,  or  because  he  is  my  unrelenting  and  bitter  enemy.  By  re 
fusing  to  vote  a  suitable  salary  to  him  I  should  be  guilty  of  doing  toward 
him  what  I  think  he  has  often  done  toward  me — injustice.  We  ought  to 
vote  a  salary  for  the  office,  without  regard  to  the  merits  of  the  accidental 
present  incumbent. 

Five  thousand  dollars  a  year  is  not  more  than  proper  compensation  for  the 
services  of  any  man  fit  to  be  a  district  judge.  And  without  providing  an 
adequate  salary  you  can  not  at  all  times  secure  the  services  of  a  competent 
man,  except  from  the  wealthy  men  of  the  country,  who  might  be  willing 
to  accept  the  office  without  any  salary  whatever.  This  would  be  closing 
the  door  of  preferment  to  the  poor,  and  surrendering  the  bench  to  the  rich; 
'  which  I  am  opposed  to,  not  onlv  because  being  a  poor  man  I  sympathize 
with  that  class,  but  because  such  a  policy  would  be  anti-republican,  and  a 
practical  surrender  of  the  bench  to  the  rich. 

VOID  VOTES  DEFINED. 

Undoubtedly  the  most  profound  legal  argument  made  by 
Carpenter  during  this  session  was  upon  whether  Joseph  C. 
Abbott  was  -entitled  to  admission  as  a  senator  from  the  state 


VOID   VOTES    DEFINED.  387 

of  South  Carolina.  A  majority  of  the  legislature  of  that 
stale  voted  to  elect  Vance  as  United  States  senator,  knowing 
him  to  be  ineligible,  but  supposing,  as  they  alleged,  that  his 
disabilities  would  be  removed  by  congress  in  time  to  allow 
him  to  take  his  seat.  The  balance,  a  minority  of  the  legis 
lature,  voted  for  Abbott,  who  was  eligible,  and  he  appeared 
and  claimed  a  seat.  The  majority  of  the  committee  on  priv 
ileges  and  elections  submitted  a  report  against,  while  Car 
penter  submitted  a  report  in  favor  of  giving  him  a  seat.  In 
support  of  this  report  he  made  two  speeches  of  great  com 
pactness  and  strength,  rilling  over  fifty  columns  of  the  Con 
gressional  Record,  and  containing  a  very  large  number  of 
authorities  and  decisions,  European  and  American,  sustaining 
his  position.  He  assumed  the  ground  that  those  who  voted 
for  a  person  known  to  them  to  be  ineligible,  while  others 
were  voting  for  one  known  to  all  to  be  eligible,  threw  away 
their  votes;  and  that  thereby  the  eligible  person,  though  not 
receiving  an  actual  majority  of  the  material  votes  cast,  legally 
received  all  of  them,  and  was  elected.  He  presented,  in 
support  of  this  theory,  a  long  array  of  decisions,  none  01 
which  the  opposing  senators  pretended  to  controvert  or 
answer.  A  quotation  from  Lord  Dunnan's  decision,  in  the 
English  Reports,  in  the  case  of  Gosling  vs.  Veley,  as  follows, 
will  illustrate  the  tenor  of  all  of  them: 

Whenever  an  elector,  before  voting,  receives  due  notice  that  a  particular 
candidate  is  disqualified,  and  yet  will  do  nothing  but  tender  his  vote  for 
him,  he  must  be  taken  voluntarily  to  abstain  from  exercising  his  franchise; 
and  therefore,  however  strongly  he  may  in  fact  dissent,  he  must  be  taken 
in  law  to  assent  to  the  opposing  and  qualified  candidate. 

The  principal  argument  offered  against  this  was  that  the 
senate  was  a  law  unto  itself  —  not  bound  by  any  decisions 
made  by  courts  and  other  "  outside  "  bodies.  Carpenter  was 
disgusted  at  this  style  of  argument,  and  in  closing  said : 

I  felt  that  I  had  a  duty  to  perform  in  relation  to  this  question,  and  in  my 
feeble  way  I  have  performed  it.  *  *  *  I  am  as  thoroughly  convinced 
a>  I  ever  was  in  regard  to  any  legal  proposition  that  Abbott  is  entitled  to 
his  seat,  and  shall  vote  accordingly,  even  if  compelled  to  vote  alone. 

His  proposition  received  ten  votes  and  was  defeated. 


388  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

CONFUSED  ON  THE  TARIFF. 

There  had  been,  as  there  always  is  on  this  question,  some 
extraordinary  debates  on  the  tariff  bill,  and  when,  with  a 
clause  providing  for  free  tea  and  coffee,  it  was  put  to  a  vote, 
Carpenter  exposed  the  absurdities  of  the  various  arguments 
by  asking  unanimous  consent  to  put  a  question  to  the  chair. 
This  being  granted,  he  asked: 

I  have  been  so  much  confused  by  the  debate  on  points  of  order,  and  so 
much  more  by  the  information  that  has  recently  been  volunteered  to  me, 
that  I  want  to  put  a  question  to  the  chair,  an  answer  to  which  will  enlighten 
me.  If  you  were  here  in  my  place,  and  wanted  to  vote  for  free  tea  and 
coffee,  how  would  you  vote? 

He  voted  to  place  tea  and  coffee  on  the  free  list. 

CLEARING  OUT  COBWEBS. 

Several  senators  presented  bills  to  "  further  the  adminis 
tration  of  justice,  but  Carpenter's  was  decided  to  be  much 
more  clear  and  comprehensive  than  the  others,  and  was 
passed.  It  is  chapter  CCLV,  Vol.  17,  Laws  of  the  United 
States,  and  is  a  very  important  statute.  It  provides  for  tak 
ing  appeals  to  the  United  States  supreme  court;  that  con 
victs  imprisoned  by  the  United  States  courts  for  non-payment 
of  fines  may  escape  by  taking  the  "poor  man's  oath; "  that 
when  several  persons  are  indicted  together  the  jury  may 
convict  one  or  more  of  them  and  acquit  or  disagree  as  to  the 
balance;  and  section  five  conforms  the  "practice,  pleadings, 
etc.,"  of  federal  courts  "  in  other  than  equity  and  admiralty 
causes  "  to  the  "  practice,  etc.,  of  the  courts  of  record  of 
the  state  in  which  such  United  States  circuit  or  district  courts 
may  be  held,  any  rule  of  court  to  the  contrary  notwithstand 
ing."  No  act  of  congress  was  ever  a  greater  boon  to  young 
attorneys.  It  cleared  the  ancient  cobwebs,  intricacies  and 
arbitrary  modes  of  procedure  from  the  federal  courts,  which 
in  many  instances  had  been  so  complicated  and  unpleasant 
as  to  greatly  embarrass  younger  practitioners.  The  act  con 
tains  sixteen  sections,  every  one  of  which  is  important. 


THE    KU    KLUX   ACT.  389 

In  discussing  a  bill  amendatory  of  the  act  chartering  the 
Texas  Pacific  Railway,  Carpenter  declared  he  had  not  the 
slightest  doubt  that  congress  had  power  to  construct  a  rail 
road  from  Washington  to  San  Francisco,  or  between  any 
other  two  points,  and  that  under  the  fifth  amendment  to 
the  constitution  the  right  of  eminent  domain  might  be  exer 
cised  in  condemning  private  property  for  its  right-of-way. 
Although  this  doctrine,  which  had  for  years  been  entertained 
by  him,  was  then  strongly  combated,  it  is  now  generally  ad 
mitted. 

THE  KU  KLUX  ACT. 

The  "  ku  klux  act,"  so-called,  passed  by  congress  April 
20,  1871,  ended  with  a  proviso  declaring  its  provisions 
should  "  not  be  in  force  after  the  end  of  the  next  regular 
session  of  congress."  Therefore,  in  May,  1872,  the  question 
of  whether  this  law  should  be  extended  arose.  Carpenter 
contended,  against  the  democrats,  that  the  law  was  constitu 
tional  and  that  it  should  be  re-enacted.  He  admitted  that 
its  passage  would  raise  a  clamor  and  uproar  from  Maine  to 
California  in  the  presidential  campaign  then  approaching, 
because  it  gave  the  President  power  to  suspend  the  writ  of 
Jiabeas  corpus,  a  provision  the  democrats  solemnly  declared 
would  "  take  from  the  people  their  liberties  and  plunge  the 
country  into  hopeless  slavery."  He  said  this  cry  about  en 
croaching  upon  the  liberties  of  the  people,  false  in  fact 
though  its  authors  knew  it  to  be,  would  arouse  the  preju 
dices  and  passions  of  the  masses  even  to  the  extent,  perhaps, 
of  defeating  General  Grant.  He  argued : 

But,  Mr.  President,  we  are  here,  accidentally  as  politicians,  officially  as 
statesmen.  We  are  here  as  senators.  We  are  here  charged  with  a  solemn 
duty  of  governmental  administration,  and  we  have  no  right  to  imperil  the 
peace  of  a  single  county  of  this  Union  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  a  presi 
dential  election.  The  passage  of  this  law  last  year,  beyond  all  question 
suspended,  suppressed  the  outrages  that  were  disgracing  the  south  and  dis 
gracing  our  land.  The  mere  enunciation  of  the  will  of  congress  did  it. 
It  was  not  necessarv  to  employ  force.  In  most  cases  the  mere  announce 
ment  of  congressional  purpose  on  this  subject,  and  the  fact  that  General 


39°  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

Grant  knew  how  to  enforce  the  law  by  means  of  the  army  and  navy,  pro 
duced  peace  throughout  the  land.  If  this  act  is  renewed  peace  will  con 
tinue.  There  will  02  no  occasion,  I  trust  and  believe,  for  putting  the  act  in 
operation  anywhere.  Then  no  harm  will  come.  But  I  also  believe  —  and 
I  believe  it,  not  because  I  think  it  is  for  the  interests  of  the  republican  party 
to  believe  it,  but  even  against  my  judgment  of  political  policy  — if  this  act 
were  to  be  withdrawn  these  outrages  in  certain  localities  would  be  repeated ; 
I  believe  that  helpless  innocence,  the  poor,  the  lowly  and  the  humble,  in 
certain  localities,  would  be  given  over  again  to  this  brute  violence,  this  crim 
inality,  this  midnight  riot  of  violence  and  wickedness,  the  details  of  which 
sicken  any  man  to  consider.  Sir,  I  believe  I  understand  myself  when  I  say 
that  if  I  knew  the  passage  of  this  act  would  save  the  lives  of  innocent  peo 
ple  in  one  county,  would  preserve  the  peace  in  one  state,  and  yet  result  in 
the  defeat  of  General  Grant  in  this  campaign,  it  would  be  my  duty  as  a 
senator  to  regard  our  constituents,  to  preserve  that  public  peace,  to  spread 
over  our  people,  so  long  as  we  are  in  power,  the  protection  which  is  em 
bodied  by  the  waving  of  our  national  flag. 

This  was  a  bill  of  far  greater  importance  than  the  people 
of  any  generation  subsequent  to  the  days  of  ku-kluxism  can 
possibly  appreciate.  Carpenter  mast  have  so  regarded  it,  or, 
loving  and  respecting  General  Grant  as  he  did,  and  deeply 
solicitous  for  his  re-election  to  the  presidency  as  he  was,  he 
would  not  have  voted  or  spoken  for  a  measure  that  seemed 
likely  to  jeopardize  that  re-election.  It  was  simply  one  of  the 
more  important  of  the  many  occasions  in  which  Carpenter 
completely  laid  aside  his  friends,  personal  desires  and  party 
weal  for  the  benefit  of  justice  and  humanity. 

A  TOWERING  HUMBUG. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  session  it  was  proposed  by  Senator 
Sawyer  to  appoint  a  commission  of  three,  with  clerks,  stenog 
raphers,  etc.,  to  "  investigate  the  hours  and  wages  of  labor, 
and  of  the  division  of  the  joint  profits  of  labor  and  capital." 
Although  there  was  hardly  a  public  man  of  his  time  who  felt 
so  deeply  and  spoke  so  earnestly  for  the  common  people,  for 
the  laboring  classes,  as  Carpenter,  yet  he  opposed  this  scheme 
as  "  a  humbug  of  towering  dimensions."  He  asked  what  con 
gress  could  do  provided  it  should  be  discovered  that  laborers 


A   TOWERING    HUMBUG.  3pl 

received  only  one-half  the  compensation  they  deserved  or  de 
sired;  under  what  clause  of  the  constitution  power  was 
derived  to  investigate  the  profits  of  business  and  labor,  any 
'  more  than  the  condition  of  marital  felicity  throughout  the 
Union,  the  amount  of  profanity  indulged  in,  or  why  men  did 
not  pay  their  debts.  He  contended  against  the  bill  at  some 
length  and  voted  against  it. 


392  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

SALES  OF  ARMS  TO  FRENCH  AGENTS. 

That  which  rendered  this  session  of  the  forty-second  con 
gress  particularly  memorable  was  the  debate  on  the  sales  of 
arms  to  alleged  French  agents  during  the  Franco-Prussian 
war.  Carpenter  was  the  conspicuous  and  popular  actor  in 
this  able  yet  angry  controversy,  and  won  in  it  such  honors  as  ' 
must,  without  any  other  achievement,  have  rendered  his  sen 
atorial  career  imperishable.  Charles  Sumner,  being  engaged 
in  a  quarrel  with  President  Grant,  presented  a  preamble  and 
resolution  reciting  that  the  United  States  had  violated  the 
neutrality  laws  by  selling  arms  to  Remington  &  Sons,  agents 
of  the  French  government;  that  there  had  been  fraud  in  re 
porting  and  accounting  for  the  proceeds  of  those  sales,  and 
that  the  United  States  had  been  dishonored  by  being  cogni 
zant  thereof  and  a  participant  therein,  and  calling  for  a  com 
mittee  of  seven  to  investigate  and  report  upon  the  matter. 
Carpenter  voted  for  the  investigation,  but  before  doing  so 
characterized  it  as  a  scheme  conceived  as  and  intended  to  be 
a  stab  at  and  assault  upon  the  administration,  brought  at  the 
opening  of  the  presidential  canvass  for  the  purpose  of  injur 
ing  General  Grant.  He  proclaimed  that  "  those  senators  who 
moved  and  promoted  this  assault  upon  the  administration  " 
either  knew  there  was  no  foundation  for  the  charges,  and  that 
the  government  "  would  emerge  from  the  investigation  with 
out  the  smell  of  fire  upon  its  garments,  or  they  knew  our 
neutral  duties  had  been  violated  and  were  taking  up  the  clubs 
for  a  foreign  nation  and  brandishing  them  over  their  own 
native  land." 

The  resolution  was  adopted  by  a  vote  of  fifty-two  to  five. 
But  as  the  preamble  was  so  much  in  the  nature  of  a  direct 
charge  of  guilt,  and  as  Carpenter  had  so  thoroughly  exposed 
the  animus  which  brought  it  forth,  Sumner  sought  to  with- 


SALES   OF   ARMS   TO    FRENCH   AGENTS.  393 

draw  it,  and  finally  succeeded  in  having  it  laid  on  the  table. 
However,  it  was  debated  for  two  weeks  before  thus  disposed 
of,  Sumner  in  particular  making  free  assault  upon  the  admin 
istration.  Then  Carpenter  turned  upon  the  senator  from 
Massachusetts  with  spirit: 

Mr.  President,  the  senator's  purpose  is  now  revealed.  We  know  what  his 
motive  was;  we  know  it  was  not  to  investigate  facts,  but  it  was  an  attempt 
to  blacken  this  administration  without  regard  to  truth  or  justice,  else  the 
whole  resolution  would  have  been  adopted  two  weeks  ago  without  debate. 

Schurz,  being  a  native  of  Germany,  had  no  love  for 
France,  and  his  love  for  his  adopted  country,  the  United 
States,  did  not  seem  to  be  strong  enough  to  prevent  him 
from  attacking  its  government  for  selling,  under  authority  of 
law,  arms  to  an  enemy  of  the  land  in  which  he  was  born 
but  from  which  he  felt  compelled  to  flee  as  a  revolutionist. 
So  Sumner,  in  prosecuting  his  quarrel  with  President  Grant, 
made  good  use  of  what  appeared  to  be  Schurz's  greater 
love  for  Germany  than  for  the  United  States,  of  which  he 
was  then  a  senator.  These  points  Carpenter  turned  against 
the  two  senators  with  deadly  effect,  interjecting  short  double- 
edged  sentences  and  epigrams  of  a  dozen  words  each  into 
their  remarks  with  such  dexterity  and  power  as  to  not  only 
neutralize  the  force  of  his  opponents,  but  turn  their  weap 
ons  back  upon  themselves  with  destructive  results.  He 
indicted  the  two  senators  for  bringing  forward  a  charge 
against  their  own  country  in  the  interests  of  a  foreign 
country  as  being,  to  say  the  least,  unpatriotic;  and  the  people 
might,  he  feared,  judge  Mr.  Schurz  even  more  harshly  than 
that. 

When  the  committee  of  investigation  was  named  Sumner 
refused  to  serve  as  a  member  of  it.  It  was,  therefore,  con 
stituted  as  follows:  Hannibal  Hamlin,  Matt.  H.  Carpenter, 
John  Sherman,  F.  A.  Sawyer,  John  A.  Logan,  James  Har- 
lan  and  John  W.  Stevenson. 

Sumner  refused  to  go  before  the  committee  to  testify,  and 
Schurz  was  present  and  cross-examined  or  coached  all  the 


394  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

witnesses.  Carpenter  drew  the  report,  which  found  that  the 
government,  under  the  acts  of  congress  of  1825,  had  ample 
authority  to  sell  the  arms;  that  there  was  nothing  fraudulent  or 
wrong  in  the  sales  so  far  as  the  United  States  government  was 
concerned,  and  that  no  international  comity  or  neutral  duties 
had  been  violated,  because  the  government  had  not  sold  mu 
nitions  of  war  to  France  and  refused  to  sell  upon  equal  terms  to 
Germany.  When  this  report  was  presented,  May  n,  1872, 
Sumner  arose  and  protested  against  receiving  it,  declared  the 
committee  was  formed  contrary  to  parliamentary  rules,  be 
cause  Jefferson's  Manual  says,  "  When  any  member  who  is 
against  the  bill  hears  himself  named  on  its  committee  he 
ought  to  ask  to  be  excused,"  and  by  innuendo  charged  that 
members  of  the  committee  had,  as  Mr.  Logan  put  it,  "  per 
verted  the  testimony  or  deviated  from  the  path  of  their  duty 
or  done  injustice  to  their  country  by  forfeiting  their  own 
judgment  and  yielding  to  that  which  was  an  improper  one." 

Carpenter  struck  a  telling  blow  by  showing  that  every 
member  of  the  committee  voted  for  the  investigation,  and 
that  the  report  against  which  Sumner  protested  had  never 
been  read  by  him  (Sumner)  or  any  member  of  the  senate 
not  on  the  committee;  and,  therefore,  its  contents  must  be 
unknown. 

Twenty  days  later,  under  a  motion  to  postpone  the  civil 
appropriation  bill,  Sumner  renewed  his  attack  on  the  Presi 
dent,  while  pretending  to  debate  the  report  on  the  sale  of 
arms,  although  his  entire  reference  to  that  subject  did  not 
occupy  three  dozen  lines  of  the  old  narrow  columns  of  The 
Globe.  The  speech  was  simply  the  most  felentless  and 
acrimonious  castigation  of  his  President  ever  uttered  in  the 
senate  by  a  senator  of  the  same  political  party.  In  it  Sumner 
charged  Grant  with  nepotism,  with  establishing  a  "  military 
ring  "  in  the  White  House,  with  insulting  the  African  race, 
with  assaulting  the  safeguards  of  the  treasury,  with  numer 
ous  violations  of  the  constitution,  with  contriving  against  San 
Domingo,  with  undue  personal  pretensions,  with  being  influ- 


A   GALLANT   DEFENSE   OF   GRANT.  395 

enced  by  gift-taking,  and  described  him  as  "  the  great  presi 
dential  quarreler  of  our  history."  He  closed  by  haranguing 
the  pending  presidential  convention  not  to  re-nominate  Grant, 
and  pretended  to  quote  the  dying  words  to  himself  of  Edwin 
M.  Stanton,  thus: 

I  know  General  Grant  better  than  any  other  person  in  the  country  can 
know  him.  It  was  my  duty  to  study  him,  and  I  did  so  night  and  day,  when 
I  saw  him  and  when  I  did  not  see  him,  and  now  I  tell  you  what  I  know,  he 
can  not  govern  this  country. 

Sumner  alleged  that  he  thereupon  asked  Stanton  why  he 
spoke  for  Grant  during  the  presidential  campaign  of  1868, 
and  the  great  secretary  of  war  replied:  "I  spoke,  but  I 
never  introduced  the  name  of  Grant.  I  spoke  only  for  the 
republican  party  and  the  republican  cause."  Thus  he  con 
tinued,  summoning  dead  and  living  witness,  in  the  onslaught 
upon  Grant. 

A  GALLANT  DEFENSE  OF  GRANT. 

To  this  extraordinary  speech  Carpenter  replied  four  days 
later.  Usually  he  did  not  like  to  have  Mrs.  Carpenter  pres 
ent  during  his  speeches,  because,  he  said,  he  could  never 
acquit  himself  so  creditably  when  he  knew  she  was  watch 
ing  him.  On  this  occasion,  however,  he  invited  her  to  the 
chamber,  and  seemed  to  be  in  an  exceedingly  cheerful  and 
confident  mood.  The  galleries  were  packed,  hundreds  of 
prominent  persons  having  come  on  from  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  to  hear  Carpenter's  reply.  He /began  by  show 
ing  that  every  act  of  the  government  in  selling  arms  to  the 
Remingtons,  the  contractors,  not  the  "  agents,"  as  Sumner 
characterized  them,  of  the  French  government,  was  in  ac 
cordance  with  domestic  and  international  laws,  and  introduced 
a  letter  from  Prince  Bismarck  in  which  the  great  German 
chancellor  distinctly  said  the  sale  of  arms  to  France  by  cit 
izens  of  the  United  States  ivas  no  violation  of  neutrality  laws 
or  of  any  treaty  stipulations. 


396  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

This  demolished  both  Sumner  and  Schurz,  who  had  pre 
tended  that  the  sale  of  arms  to  France  was  unjust  to  Ger 
many.  His  argument  upon  the  rights  of  neutral  nations  was 
pronounced  by  diplomatists  and  judges  to  be  the  most  clear, 
learned  and  exhaustive  ever  delivered  upon  the  floor  of  con 
gress.  It  was  unanswerable.  Upon  its  conclusion  Carpenter 
turned  his  attention  to  Sumner's  "  twenty  columns  of  cal 
umny,  personal  abuse  and  falsehood,"  uttered  with  the  "  in 
tention  of  thwarting  the  manifest  intention  of  the  people  to 
nominate  and  re-elect  General  Grant."  It  \vas  a  veritable 
tornado.  Carpenter  appeared  to  be  inspired  and  "  fretting  for 
the  conflict."  He  was  in  earnest. 

His  face  was  flushed,  his  eyes  sparkled  and  burned,  his  voice 
was  loud  and  clear,  and  his  mood,  while  not  that  of  anger, 
plainly  indicated  a  determination  to  redress  an  outrage,  right 
a  wrong,  defend  his  friend,  the  President,  from  false  charges, 
expose  the  motives  of  those  who  had  made  the  assault,  and 
punish  them  for  their  wickedness  toward  the  administration. 

His  designs  were  carried  out  with  resistless  force  and  over 
whelming  effect.  He  showed  how  Sumner  first  became 
angry  with  Grant  because  he  failed  to  induce  the  President 
to  remove  Mr.  Tuckerman  from  the  Greek  mission  and  ap 
point  to  that  position  a  man  from  Boston,  whose  recommen 
dation  was  that  he  had  been  "  a  life-long  friend  "  of  Sumner. 
When,  in  his  vivisection,  he  finally  reached  the  marrow,  his 
auditors  listened  in  absolute  pain  and  apprehension.  They 
saw  the  destroying  blasts  increasing  in  fury,  the  indignation 
of  the  usually  genial  and  mirth-provoking  senator  rising 
higher  and  higher,  and  the  arraignment  growing  more  terri 
ble  and  destructive,  but  they  could  not  tell  when  or  how  the 
end  would  come. 

Sumner,  pale  and  trembling,  sat,  for  a  while,  under  Car 
penter's  lacerating  and  swift-descending  lash,  but,  unable  to 
bear  up  longer  under  the  increasing  scourge,  rushed,  or  as 
Carpenter  put  it,  "  pranced  "  from  the  chamber. 

In  denominating  General  Grant  "the  great  presidential 


A  GALLANT  DEFENSE  OF  GRANT.          397 

quarreler  of  our  history,"  Sumner  had  said  "the  eleventh 
commandment "  is  that  "  a  President,  of  the  United  States 
shall  never  quarrel."  In  treating  this  Carpenter  said: 

He  has  risen  in  this  paragraph  above  the  universe;  he  has  seated  him 
self  by  the  side  of  the  Almighty  and  undertaken  the  revision,  correction 
and  enlargement  of  his  works  —  "A  President  of  the  United  States  shall 
never  quarrel."  This  is  the  addition  which  the  senator  from  Massachusetts 
engrafts  upon  the  decalogue,  that  body  of  laws  given  by  God  to  man  amid 
the  thunders  of  Sinai.  I  hold  in  my  hand  the  sacred  volume  which  con 
tains  the  revelations  of  man's  latest  existence  on  earth  and  penetrates  the 
vail  and  discloses  the  mysteries  beyond.  John,  on  the  island  of  Patmos, 
being  "  in  the  spirit  on  the  Lord's  day,"  saw  many  things,  clean  and  un 
clean;  he  saw  the  great  red  dragon  with  seven  heads  and  ten  horns;  he  saw 
the  whore  of  Babylon  in  scarlet  attire,  and  he  saw  the  senator  from  Massa 
chusetts.  And  apparently,  to  prevent  the  blasphemy  which  we  have  wit 
nessed  in  this  chamber,  there  are  written  at  the  conclusion  of  this  sacred 
volume,  which  contains  the  light  of  our  lives  in  this  life  and  our  guide  to 
a  better  abode  above,  words  of  awful  admonition  which  I  recommend  to 
the  careful  study  of  the  senator  from  Massachusetts:  "For  I  testify  unto 
you,  every  man  that  heareth  the  words  of  the  prophecy  of  this  book,  if  any 
man  shall  ADD  UNTO  THESE  THINGS,  God  shall  add  unto  him  the  plagues 
that  are  -written  in  this  book"  Why,  sir,  if  the  presumption  of  the  senator 
from  Massachusetts  should  only  reach  a  little  higher,  you  might  find  in 
the  book-stalls  within  a  year  a  volume  entitled  "The  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  Revised,  Corrected,  and  Greatly  Enlarged  and  Improved,  by  Charles 
Sumner." 

He  has,  as  it  is  reported,  long  been  not  only  an  admirer,  but  an  imitator  of 
Burke;  and  it  is  clear  that  in  the  elaborate  and  malignant  philippic  upon 
the  President  which  he  read  in  the  senate  on  Friday,  which  was  composed 
at  great  expense  of  midnight  oil,  printed  in  pamphlet  form  and  partially 
distributed  before  its  delivery  in  the  senate,  the  senator  had  in  mind  Burke's 
terrible  arraignment  of  Warren  Hastings,  which  was  so  vindictive  as  to 
provoke  the  following  epigram : 

"  Oft  have  we  wondered  that  on  Irish  ground 
No  poisonous  reptile  has  ere  yet  been  found; 
Revealed  the  secret  stands  of  Nature's  work, 

She  saved  her  venom  to  create  a  Burke." 

• 
Imitators    are   always   more  successful   in  copying  the  vices    than    the 

virtues  of  the  old  masters;  and  the  senator's  philippic  as  far  excels  its 
model  in  malice  and  meanness  as  it  falls  short  of  it  in  grandeur  and  elo 
quence.  And  there  are  many  reasons  for  fearing  that  the  senator  will  meet 
the  fate  of  Burke,  who  late  in  life  turned  away  from  his  early  principles 
and  died  in  the  embrace  of  his  early  enemies,  detested  by  his  early  friends. 


39$  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

Having  gone  seriatim  through  what  he  termed,  in  a  clear, 
ringing  voice,  the  "  monstrous  exaggerations,  wilful  misrepre 
sentations  and  deliberate  falsehoods  "  of  Sumner's  speech,  he 
turned  to  the  last  of  them,  the  alleged  dying  charge  of  Edwin 
M.  Stanton  against  Grant,  saying: 

There  is  one  thing,  which,  for  its  enormity,  deserves  special  attention ; 
and  if  I  thought  it  would  take  the  last  breath  of  my  life  I  would  spend  it 
on  this.  The  senator  asserts  that  this  interview  occurred  a  few  days  before 
Mr.  Stanton's  death ;  and  that  Mr.  Stanton  was  expressing  not  a  sudden  con 
clusion,  formed  upon  newly-discovered  testimony,  but  the  result  of  his 
study  of  Grant's  character  for  many  years.  He  makes  Mr.  Stanton  say : 
"  I  know  General  Grant  better  than  any  other  person  in  the  country  can 
know  him.  It  was  my  duty  to  study  him  when  I  saw  him  and  when  I  did 
not  see  him,"  etc.  And  he  makes  him  say  "  that  he  was  not  consulted 
about  the  nomination  "  of  General  Grant  for  the  presidency,  and  that  in  the 
speeches  which  he  (Stanton)  made  during  the  campaign  he  never  introduced 
the  name  of  General  Grant. 

The  senator  from  Massachusetts  has  been  very  unfortunate  in  all  this 
business.  He  waded  into  this  investigation  chin-deep  upon  the  strength  of 
letters  of  very  eminent  individuals,  whose  names  he  refused  to  disclose,  and 
whose  testimony,  therefore,  we  could  not  obtain.  But  upon  this  occasion 
he  evidently  intended  to  support  his  charge  against  General  Grant  by 
witnesses  who  could  not  be  called  to  impeach  him.  So  he  violated  all  the 
delicacies  of  friendship  and  invaded  the  sanctuary  of  the  grave  and  called 
Edwin  M.  Stanton  back  to  bear  testimony  against  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  Sir,  it  is  a  little,  difficult  to  keep  strictly  within  parliamentary 
decorum  and  say  "what  ought  to  be  said  on  such  an  occasion.  I  shall  attempt  to 
do  it,  and  I  hope  I  shall  succeed. 

In  the  first  place,  I  am  speaking  to  men  who  will  know  whether  I  am 
right  or  wrong  in  what  I  say;  and  I  assert  that  if  Mr.  Stanton  made  that 
declaration  to  the  senator  from  Massachusetts  under  the  circumstances  de 
tailed  by  him,  if  there  is  a  word  of  substantial  truth  in  that  whole  paragraph, 
if  it  be  not  an  infamous  fabrication  from  first  to  last,  then  Mr.  Stanton  was 
the  most  double-faced  and  dishonest  man  that  ever  lived ;  and  I  call  upon 
senators  around  me  to  bear  testimony  upon  this  point. 

There  were  accidents  brought  me  to  know  Mr.  Stanton  very  well.  I  came 
here  to  attend  to  an  important  lawsuit,  occupied  a  room  in  the  war  depart 
ment,  and  for  several  months  saw  Mr.  Stanton  daily.  I  went  to  the  supreme 
court  in  the  morning  at  eleven  o'clock  to  watch  the  progress  of  its  business, 
and  I  was  at  leisure  for  the  rest  of  the  day.  I  was  much  of  the  time  at  the 
department,  and  therefore  frequently  with  him.  He  was  at  that  time,  as 
you  all  know,  imprisoned  in  the  department  in  consequence  of  troubles  with 


A  GALLANT  DEFENSE  OF  GRANT.          399 

the  President,  and  he  used  to  come  into  my  room  to  smoke  and  often  in 
vited  me  to  walk  with  him.  In  the  course  of  our  conversations  1  heard  him 
refer  to  General  Grant  a  hundred  times,  and  never  but  with  the  highest 
respect  and  the  kindest  feeling. 

I  came  here  a  senator  at  the  session  at  which  Mr.  Stanton  died,  and  was 
frequently  at  his  house  during  his  last  illness.  I  saw  him  just  before  he 
died,  under  circumstances  which  gave  me  an  opportunity  to  know  more 
than  I  should  otherwise  have  known  of  his  feeling  toward  General  Grant. 
I  had  charge,  for  the  first  time  in  my  life,  of  a  bill  in  the  senate,  the  bill 
which  we  passed  lor  the  reconstruction  of  the  legislature  of  Georgia,  after 
the  colored  members  had  been  expelled.  We  sat  late  at  night  to  pass  it. 
At  about  half-past  eleven,  while  in  my  seat,  it  occurred  to  me  something 
might  be  done  to  insure  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Stanton  as  judge  ot  the 
supreme  court.  It  had  been  talked  about  for  some  weeks.  It  had  been  ex 
pected  by  many  of  us,  and  yet  his  nomination  did  not  come.  I  then  and 
there  drew  up  a  letter  to  the  President,  recommending  Mr.  Stanton  to  be 
appointed  judge  of  that  court.  I  took  it  around  this  chamber,  and  in  less 
than  twenty  minutes  obtained  thirty-seven  signatures  of  republican  sena 
tors.  That  was  Friday  night,  and  before  leaving  the  senate  chamber  I 
agreed  with  the  senator  from  Michigan  [Mr.  Chandler]  to  meet  me  at  the 
White  House  the  following  morning,  Saturday,  at  ten  o'clock,  to  present 
the  letter  to  the  President. 

The  next  morning  at  ten  o'clock  I  rode  to  Mr.  Stanton's  and  showed  him 
the  letter,  and  as  he  glanced  over  it  the  tears  started  down  his  cheeks.  He 
said  not  a  word.  He  did  not  even  say  thank  you.  Witnessing  the 
depth  of  his  emotion,  I  bowed  myself  out,  telling  him  that  I  was  going  to 
present  it  to  the  President. 

I  carried  it  to  the  President  and  found  the  senator  from  Michigan  with 
the  President,  awaiting  me.  Said  the  President: 

"  I  am  delighted  to  have  that  letter;  I  have  desired  for  weeks  to  appoint 
Mr.  Stanton  to  that  place,  and  yet,  in  consequence  of  his  having  been  sec 
retary  of  war  and  so  prominent  in  the  recent  political  strife,  I  have  doubted 
whether  it  would  answer  to  make  him  a  judge;  that  indorsement  is  all  I 
want;  you  go  to  Mr.  Stanton's  house  and  tell  him  his  name  will  be  sent  to  the 
senate  on  Monday  morning." 

This  was  on  Saturday.  I  then  drove  back  to  Mr.  Stanton's  house  and 
told  him  what  the  President  had  said.  Mr.  Stanton's  first  reply  was:  "The 
kindness  of  General  Grant  —  it  is  perfectly  characteristic  of  him  — will  do 
more  to  cure  me  than  all  the  skill  of  the  doctors."  And,  sir,  I  know  that  in  the 
serious  illness  which  terminated  so  disastrously,  he  frequently  had  occasion 
to  refer  to  the  course  of  the  administration,  to  matters  that  were  pending 
in  congress,  and  I  do  know,  and  I  can  testify,  and  I  hold  it  to  be  my  solemn 
duty  to  testify,  that  in  all  those  interviews,  from  first  to  last,  from  the  time 


400  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

I  first  made  his  acquaintance  down  to  the  hour  of  his  death,  I  never  heard 
him  say  of  General  Grant  anything  that  was  not  of  the  kindest  nature 
and  of  the  highest  praise. 

My  friend  from  Vermont  [Mr.  Edmunds]  reminds  me  of  a  difficulty  that 
occurred  after  the  name  of  Mr.  Stanton  was  sent  to  the  senate.  He  was 
appointed  to  succeed  Mr.  Justice  Grier,  who  had  retired,  to  take  effect  on  a 
future  day,  the  ist  of  February,  I  think,  that  he  might  be  present  at  the 
decision  of  some  causes  that  had  been  previously  argued.  Mr.  Stanton's 
name  was  sent  here;  he  was  confirmed  by  the  senate,  and  a  commission 
was  made  out  and  ready  to  be  delivered.  The  President  then  suggested  this 
difficulty :  Mr.  Justice  Grier  still  being  in  office,  could  the  commission  be 
delivered?  Thereupon  several  friends  were  consulted  by  the  President, 
and  they  advised  him  that  there  was  no  difficulty  on  that  ground;  and 
thereupon  the  commission  was  sent  to  Mr.  Stanton,  to  take  effect  on  the 
day  when  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Grier  should  take  effect.  The  President 
continued  to  call  upon  him  at  his  house,  day  after  day,  during  his  last  ill 
ness,  up  to  the  day  of  his  death,  and  followed  his  remains  to  the  grave. 

The  circumstances  of  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Stanton  to  the  place  were 
very  remarkable.  Mr.  Justice  Grier,  an  old  man  full  of  honors  and  full  of 
days,  had  sent  in  his  resignation,  or  announced  his  disposition  to  retire  on 
a  certain  day.  Mr.  Stanton  was  nominated,  confirmed,  commissioned,  and 
ready  to  take  his  seat.  He  was  then  taken  sick,  died,  and  was  buried,  all 
before  the  ist  day  of  February,  and  on  that  day  good  old  Justice  Grier 
returned,  took  his  place  on  the  bench,  and  helped  to  decide  causes  after  his 
successor  had  been  appointed,  commissioned,  and  was  dead  and  buried. 
The  circumstances  show  the  anxiety  of  the  President  in  this  matter  to  do 
this  kindly  act  to  his  friend  Stanton;  and  I  tell  you,  sir,  what  I  do  know, 
and  what  no  statement  could  shake  from  my  belief  for  one  moment,  there  is 
not  one  ivord  of  truth  in  the  "whole  paragraph. 

Carpenter  then  quoted  from  numerous  speeches  made  in 
1868  by  Stanton,  in  which  he  not  only  "introduced  the  name 
of  Grant,"  but  bestowed  upon  him  unstinted  praise.  At 
Steubenville,  Ohio,  Stanton  said: 

Vote  early  and  vote  often ;  for  if  Grant  be  elected,  this  globe  shall  disap 
pear  from  the  firmament  before  the  banner  of  the  United  States  shall  suffer 
tarnish  or  shame,  on  the  land  or  on  the  deep.  If  there  is  any  man  among 
you  that  would  reverse  the  order  of  history;  who  would  bring  upon  you  a 
shame  and  a  reproach  never  before  known  among  the  nations  of  the  earth; 
who  would  have  the  commander  of  the  United  States  armies  deliver  up  his 
sword,  and  humbly  bow  before  the  rebel  commander  —  let  that  man  vote 
against  Grant,  but  never  again  call  himself  an  American  citizen. 


A  VIEW   OF   THE   CONTROVERSY.  401 

At  Philadelphia,  before  the  Union  League  and  elsewhere, 
Stan  ton  delivered  powerful  speeches  for  Grant,  and  after  quot 
ing  from  them  Carpenter  thus  closed  his  speech: 

It  is  a  fortunate  thing  that  the  dead  secretary  has  left  it  without  the  power 
of  the  living  senator  to  belie  him.  *  *  *  The  quotations  I  have  made 
are  sufficient  to  show,  either  that  Mr.  Stanton,  on  his  death-bed,  uttered  a 
falsehood  to  the  senator  from  Massachusetts  —  a  falsehood  which  he  must 
have  known  to  be  susceptible  of  easy  contradiction  by  reference  to  reports 
of  his  speeches  during  that  campaign  —  or  that  the  senator  from  Massachu 
setts  dc-liberately  falsified  Mr.  Stanton.  I  am  content  that  the  American 
people  shall  judge  between  them. 

The  national  republican  convention  which  re-nominated 
Grant  was  in  session  at  Philadelphia  when  the  speech  was 
delivered.  Among  the  numerous  telegrams  of  congratula 
tion  and  thanks  was  one  from  the  Wisconsin  delegation  in 
that  convention,  couched  in  the  strongest  language  and 
signed  by  every  member. 

This  speech  undoubtedly  had  a  wider  influence  upon  the 
country  than  any  Carpenter  ever  delivered  in  the  senate. 
Thousands  and  thousands  l  of  copies  of  it  were  printed  and 
sent  broadcast  over  every  state  in  the  Union.  Grant  was 
re-nominated,  the  heat  of  a  presidential  campaign  prepared 
the  public  mind  for  impressions,  and  this  speech  was  admit 
ted  on  all  sides  to  be  the  most  potent  element  of  the  can 
vass  in  securing  his  re-election.  And  if  it  did  not  completely 
silence  Sumner  and  Schurz,  who  were  openly  opposed  to 
Grant,  it  destroyed  all  their  influence  and  their  power  for 
evil,  as  it  exposed  to  the  world  the  falsity  of  their  charges 
against  the  administration  and  the  animus  of  their  hatred  of 
the  President. 

A  VIEW  OF  THE  CONTROVERSY. 

Perhaps  no  more  favorable  opportunity  than  this  will  be 
offered  for  a  further  reference  to  the  senatorial  relations  be- 

l  The  republican  committee  alone  circulated  a  hundred  thousand  copies. 
26 


402  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

tween  Carpenter  and  Sumner.  When  the  former  first 
appeared  in  Washington  as  a  senator  he  was  received  with 
a  great  deal  of  distinguished  condescension  by  the  senator 
from  Massachusetts,  who  gave  an  elaborate  dinner  in  his 
honor. 

For  some  time  Sumner  had  ruled  the  senate  with  a  rod  of 
iron,  and  he  adopted  the  usual  means  of  capturing  new  sen 
ators  to  secure  Carpenter  as  one  of  his  pliant  friends  and 
allies.  Therefore,  when,  a  little  later,  he  discovered  that  he 
could  not  control  Carpenter  nor  quell  his  frequent  rebellions 
against  dictation,  he  was  astounded.  But  mere  astonishment 
was  soon  forced  to  the  rear  by  a  more  disturbing  and  dan 
gerous  feeling.  Carpenter  became  suddenly  popular;  was 
recognized  as  one  of  the  very  ablest  lawyers  who  had  ever 
sat  in  congress;  was  a  brilliant  and  fascinating,  as  well  as  ef 
fective  debater,  and  was  referred  to  by  the  newspapers  as  the 
"  leader  of  the  republican  side  of  the  United  States  senate," 
the  "  coming  man,"  and  the  "  Webster  of  the  west." 

All  this  nettled  and  annoyed  Sumner,  who  lost  few  oppor 
tunities  thereafter  of  making  trouble  for  Carpenter.  When, 
early  in  his  first  term,  it  became  apparent  that  he  was  about 
to  become  an  aggressive  opponent  of  Sumner  in  a  particular 
matter,  his  friends  approached  him  in  fear,  protesting  that  he 
must  proceed  with  no  rashness  against  the  acknowledged 
leader  of  the  senate,  as  he  would  certainly  be  destroyed. 
Like  Alexander,  who  fought  only  when  he  had  kings  for 
competitors,  he  replied:  "I  would  rather  be  destroyed  in 
honorable  battle  than  be  taken  a  prisoner  and  led  to  support 
and  indorse  measures  against  which  m}'  conscience  revolts. 
If  I  lock  horns  at  all,  and  I  plainly  see  I  must,  it  may  as  well 
be  with  the  biggest  ox  in  the  herd." 

And  so  he  locked  horns  with  Sumner.  In  all  his  contro 
versies  with  the  Massachusetts  senator,  Carpenter  never  lost 
his  temper;  nor  did  he  even  reveal  a  shadow  on  his  overflow 
ing  mirth,  except  that,  in  his  defense  of  President  Grant, 


A  VIEW  OF   THE   CONTROVERSY.  403 

there  was  perceptible  an  earnest  determination  to  inflict  what 
he  believed  to  be  well-merited  punishment.  Even  in  this  he 
displayed  no  ill-temper,  but  it  was  evident  to  all  that  he  was 
firing  no  blank  cartridges  —  that  he  was  aiming  at  vital 
parts  and  striking  to  kill.  But  none  of  these  little  differences 
were  premeditated  on  Carpenter's  part  nor  carried  forward 
as  the  programme  and  in  the  spirit  of  rivalry. 

On  the  contrary,  when  Sumner  presented  any  measure, 
which  he  frequently  did,  that  Carpenter  could  indorse,  he 
always  made  special  exertions  and  apparently  had  great  de 
light  in  efforts  to  secure  its  passage.  Personally,  he  was 
always  courteous,  genial  and  cordial  toward  Sumner,  which 
left  for  the  Massachusetts  statesman  absolutely  no  reason  to 
complain  of  Carpenter's  occasional  but  strong  opposition  to 
his  measures,  nor  any  room  to  question  the  sincerity  of  his 
motives. 

When  Sumner  had  carried  his  hostility  to  the  administra 
tion  so  far  that  he  would  not  speak  to  Grant  nor  Secretary 
Fish,  it  became  necessary,  for  the  proper  transaction  of  public 
business,  to  remove  him  from  the  chairmanship  of  the  com 
mittee  on  foreign  relations.  After  he  had  been  deposed  and 
Simon  Cameron  given  his  place,  he  said  to  Wm.  E.  Cramer, 
of  Wisconsin,  while  complaining  bitterly  of  certain  republi 
can  senators:  "I  can  not  find  fault  with  Senator  Carpenter 
in  this  matter;  he  has  simply  acted  with  his  party.  Though 
hostile,  his  attitude  has  been  open  and  fair."  That  forcible 
removal  can  not  be  consided  otherwise  than  a  justification 
of  every  public  act  of  Carpenter  towards  Sumner. 

He  was  a  sincere  mourner  over  the  death  of  Sumner. 
Probably  not  one  of  the  hundreds  of  distinguished  per 
sons  present  on  the  solemn  March  morning  in  1874  wnen 
the  funeral  formalities  of  the  two  houses  of  congress  in  honor 
of  the  deceased  abolitionist  had  been  concluded,  ever  so  fully 
comprehended  the  boundless  power  that  can  be  given  to 
words  by  the  human  voice,  as  when  Carpenter,  as  president 


404  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

pro  tempore  of  the  senate,  with  tearful  eyes  and  uplifted  hand, 
said: 

The  services  appointed  to  be  performed  by  the  committee  of  arrangements 
having  been  terminated,  the  senate  of  the  United  States  intrusts  the  mortal 
remains  of  Charles  Sumner  to  its  sergeant-at-arms  and  a  committee  ap 
pointed  by  it,  charged  -with  the  melancholy  duty  of  conveying  them  to  his 
home,  there  to  be  committed,  earth  to  earth,  ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to  dust,  in 
the  soil  of  the  commonwealth  of  Massachusetts.  Peace  to  his  ashes! 


THE   BOSTON   FIRE.  405 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

FORTY-SECOND  CONGRESS  — THIRD  SESSION. 

The  third  session  of  the  forty-second  congress,  which  be 
gan  December  2,  1872,  was  one  that  never  passed  from  the 
minds  of  the  people  nor  from  the  clearest  recollections  of 
Carpenter.  It  was  rendered  memorable  by  the  discussion  of 
the  Louisiana  question,  and,  for  a  time,  odious,  by  the  pas 
sage  of  the  "  back-pay  "  bill. 

He  had  always  held  that  the  federal  government  could  ex 
ercise  the  right  of  eminent  domain  and  condemn  those  lands  in 
any  of  the  states  which  might  be  required  for  postoffices, 
arsenals  and  government  works  generally,  and  at  this  session 
introduced  a  bill  providing  for  the  condemnation  of  lands  in 
such  cases.  It  received  the  sanction  of  the  best  lawyers 
of  the  senate,  but,  with  numerous  other  bills,  was  left  hang 
ing  in  mid-air  at  adjournment. 

THE  BOSTON  FIRE. 

The  senators  from  Massachusetts  introduced  a  bill  to  ex 
empt  from  all  tariff  and  impost  duties  for  a  certain  period, 
goods  imported  by  the  merchants  and  business  men  of  Boston 
who  suffered  losses  through  the  great  fire  of  1872.  This 
Carpenter  opposed  as  wholly  outside  of  the  power  granted 
by  the  constitution  to  congress,  as  he  had  done  when  a  simi 
lar  bill  for  the  benefit  of  the  Chicago  sufferers  was  pending. 
He  declared  that  if  Boston  could  be  exempted  from  the  tariff 
laws  New  England  might  be  given  the  same  concession,  and 
that  such  precedents  were  becoming  altogether  too  numer 
ous.  Portland  and  Chicago  had  received  such  legislation; 
Boston  was  asking  it,  and  the  door  having  been  opened, 
every  other  city  that  might  thereafter  suffer  by  fire  could  and 
would  demand  similar  concessions.  He  favored  a  direct  ap 
propriation  from  the  treasury  rather  than  the  tariff  exemption, 


406  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

for  by  the  former  all  classes  of  losers  could  be  reached  and 
relieved,  while  by  the  latter  the  rich  alone  would  profit.  He 
said: 

To  whom  does  this  provision  carry  benefit?  Not  to  the  poor  man,  not 
to  the  man  who  owned  a  poor  shanty  or  had  $5,000  worth  of  goods,  or 
$1,000  worth  ot  household  furniture.  He  gets  no  benefit  from  this  bill. 
No,  it  is  your  nabob;  it  is  your  landlord;  it  is  your  man  worth  his  millions, 
your  man  who  is  abundantly  able  to  stand  up  and  meet  this  calamity,  that 
congress  is  called  upon  to  help. 

There  is  one  authority  for  such  legislation,  and  but  one.  The  Scripture 
saith  that  "  to  him  who  hath  shall  be  given;  but  from  him  who  hath  not 
shall  be  taken  even  that  which  he  hath."  To  the  landlord  and  the  nabob 
of  Boston,  able  to  stand  up  and  meet  this  calamity,  congress  will  give,  not 
of  its  means,  not  of  its  abundance,  but  it  will  release  him  from  the  constitu 
tional  obligation  resting  upon  every  citizen.  But  to  the  poor  man  of  Bos 
ton,  to  the  tenant  who  hired  his  place  and  paid  his  monthly  rent,  to  the 
poor  man  who  lost  his  furniture  and  saw  himself  and  children  in  the  street 
the  next  day  without  one  dollar,  oh  that  is  too  small  a  thing  for  congress  to 
deal  with,  and  the  honorable  senator  [Mr.  Sumner]  says  congress,  like  the 
Divinity,  should  .only  come  in  on  great  occasions.  The  greatness  of  an 
occasion,  to  my  apprehension,  does  not  depend  upon  the  greatness  or  the 
wealth  of  a  man  who  has  lost  only  a  part  of  his  means.  It  is  a  great  oc 
casion  when  a  small  man  is  crushed  to  the  earth  by  misfortune ;  a  great 
occasion  when  a  poor  man  is  stripped  of  the  little  he  has;  it  was  a  great 
occasion  when  the  poor  woman  sitting  at  the  gate  of  the  temple  gave  her 
mite  to  a  fund  of  charity. 

FRANKING  PRIVILEGE  ABOLISHED. 

On  January  22,  1873, tne  bill  to  abolish  the  franking  priv 
ilege  on  and  after  July  I,  1873,  passed  the  senate.  The  final 
proviso  was  that  "  no  compensation  shall  now  or  hereafter 
be  made  to  members  of  congress  on  account  of  postage," 
to  which  Carpenter  offered  as  an  amendment,  "  or  for  any 
other  purpose."  This  cut  off  salary  and  mileage,  and  was 
of  course  defeated.  He  then  voted  against  the  bill,  de 
claring  it  to  be  a  grave  mistake  to  cut  off  the  free  distribu 
tion  of  public  documents  —  an  injury  rather  than  a  benefit 
to  the  people,  the  rectification  of  which  they  would  re 
quire  in  the  future.  His  prediction  was  verified  when  the 


"BACK  PAY."  407 

franking  privilege  as  to  all  except  the  private  correspondence 
of  members  of  congress  was  soon  after  restored. 

During  the  count  of  the  electoral  votes  alleged  to  have 
been  cast  for  U.  S.  Grant  and  Horace  Greeley  for  President, 
at  the  election  of  November,  1872,  Carpenter  objected  to 
counting  the  votes  of  Louisiana  for  Grant.  That  state  had 
cast  sixty-six  thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty-six  ballots  for 
the  Greeley  and  only  fifty-nine  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
seventy-five  ballots  for  the  Grant  electors,  but  the  returning- 
board  "  counted  in "  the  latter.  The  objection  was  sus 
tained,  and  the  eight  votes  of  Louisiana  were  rejected 
entirely,  as  were  also  those  of  Arkansas  and  Georgia.  If  the 
votes  in  question  had  been  necessary  to  elect  a  President, 
perhaps  they  would  not  have  been  thrown  out  without  more 
OL  a  struggle. 

FILLMORE'S  SANCTION  OF  POLYGAMY. 

When  the  bill  providing  for  the  "  better  execution  of  the 
laws  in  Utah "  was  pending,  Carpenter  warned  the  senate 
to  proceed  with  caution,  lest  laws  which  could  not  be  en 
forced  against  an  institution  which  had  already  received  the 
£7&?5/-sanction  of  the  federal  government  be  enacted,  thereby 
encouraging  further  defiance  of  and  contempt  for  the  United 
States  by  the  Mormons.  He  referred  to  the  fact  that 
certain  territorial  laws  enacted  by  the  polygamists  were  not 
for  many  years  disapproved  by  congress,  and  that  Millard 
Fillmore  nominated,  and  the  senate  confirmed,  Brigham 
Young  to  be  governor  of  Utah  while  he  had  about  him 
thirteen  or  fourteen  adulterous  wives,  thereby  giving  some 
thing  of  legal  sanction  to  polygamy. 

"  BACK  PAY." 

Carpenter  had  always  voted  to  increase  the  pay  and  re 
quire  better  service  of  federal  employes,  and  the  bill  abolish 
ing  the  franking  privilege  having  passed,  voted  to  increase 
the  compensation  of  members  of  congress  from  $5,000  to 


408  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

$7,500  per  annum.  He  predicted  that  with  the  constantly 
increasing  cost  of  living,  if  the  salaries  of  senators  should 
not  be  increased,  the  entire  senate  would  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  rich  within  twenty-five  years.1  Before  recording  his 
vote,  he  said: 

I  came  here  determined  to  do  what  I  thought  was  right  upon  all  subjects, 
salaries  included.  I  have  advocated  an  increase  of  pay  in  every  branch  of 
the  public  service  for  ten  years.  I  have  not  had  the  honor  of  being  in  con 
gress  so  long,  but  I  have  been  on  the  stump  in  this  country  for  ten  years, 
and  I  may  say,  speaking  of  the  people  of  the  west,  that  I  know  the  public 
pulse  as  well  as  any  man  in  the  west.  I  have  always  advocated  a  grade  of 
salaries  amounting  to  compensation,  and  my  constituuents,  when  they 
elected  me,  knew  that  if  I  had  been  honest  on  the  stump  I  would  vote  to 
increase  the  salary  of  every  public  officer  from  the  President  down  to  a  con 
stable.  There  is  no  doubt  whatever  that  a  senator  could  come  to  Washing 
ton  and  live  on  $5,000;  he  could  come  here  and  live  on  $3,000;  he  could 
come  here  and  live  on  a  thousand;  but  how  could  he  do  it?  The  senator 
from  Vermont  seems  to  be  alarmed  lest  his  constituents  should  get  after  him 
if  his  salary  is  increased.  I  have  not  the  slightest  fear  that  any  objection 
will  be  made  by  the  people  of  Wisconsin.  They  are  men  of  liberal  views, 
men  of  sense.  I  have  not  conversed  with  any  man  in  that  state  on  this 
subject  for  years  who  did  not  approve  of  an  increase  of  our  salaries  and 
who  did  not  look  to  that  as  the  true  reform  in  the  civil  service.  WThy,  it  is 
with  this  as  it  is  with  everything  else  in  life;  if  you  are  to  have  a  position 
among  gentlemen  you  must  live  as  gentlemen  live.  The  expense  of  living 
has  advanced  fearfully  beyond  what  it  was  in  the  days  of  the  Revolution. 
This  is  the  consequence  of  our  advance  in  wealth,  in  civilization,  and  in 
importance  as  a  nation.  The  people  of  Wisconsin,  if  they  send  a  man  here 
to  represent  them  in  the  senate,  wish  him  to  live  how?  In  the  garret  of  a 
five-story  building  on  crackers  and  cheese,  to  dress  in  goat  skins  and  sleep 
in  the  wilderness?  No.  When  they  come  here  and  ride  by  the  mansions 
of  my  honorable  friends  from  Vermont  [Mr.  Morrill  and  Mr.  Edmunds]  up 
on  the  Circle,  see  their  elegant  houses,  brilliantly  lighted,  surrounded  by 
acres  of  pavement,  parks  and  fountains,  all  built  at  the  expense  of  the 
nation;  see  them  giving  levees  and  receptions;  and  if  they  ride  by  the 
palace  of  my  honorable  friend  from  New  Jersey,  and  see  his  magnificence 
of  living,  and  then  come  to  the  homes  of  the  "  poor  white  trash  "  of  this 
senate,  and  find  their  own  senators  among  them,  they  will  not  like  that. 
They  have  manly  pride,  and  expect  to  find  their  senators  living  like  other 
senators.  The  people  of  Wisconsin  know  that  the  services  of  a  competent 

l  Count  th^  millionaires  of  recent  senates  and  observe  how  close  to  veri 
fication  that  prophecy  has  already  approached. 


4°9 

cashier  of  a  bank,  or  president  of  an  insurance  company,  can  not  be  secured 
short  of  a  salary  of  $10,000  a  year.  They  believe  a  senator  ought  to  have 
as  much  brains  as  a  cashier  of  a  bank  or  president  of  an  insurance  company. 
And  they  are  willing  to  pay  accordingly. 

The  senators  from  Vermont  may  truthfully  represent  the  views  of  their 
constituents.  The  senator  from  Pennsylvania  [Mr.  Scott]  may  truthfully 
represent  his  constituents.  I  have  no  right  to  say  they  do  not.  But  I 
speak  for  a  people  living  on  the  beach  of  the  great  lakes,  on  the  wide 
prairies  of  the  west;  a  people  whose  cheeks  are  fanned  by  breezes  which 
have  come  a  thousand  miles;  a  people  living  on  the  banks  of  a  river  which 
traverses  a  continent;  a  people  whose  views  are  enlarged  to  correspond 
with  the  face  of  nature  with  which  they  are  familiar.  They  are  able,  and 
expect  to  pay  for  whatever  they  have.  They  expect  to  be  served  faithfully, 
and  are  willing  to  pay  a  compensation  for  the  service  rendered.  They 
expect,  desire,  to  bo  represented  as  well  as  the  other  states  are  represented. 
They  intend  that  their  senators  shall  have  as  much  influence  in  the  national 
council  as  the  senators  of  any  state ;  and  they  are  willing  to  pay  the  neces 
sary  expense  to  secure  this  end. 

That  was  a  splendid  tribute  to  the  assumed  liberality  and 
advancement  of  the  people  of  his  state,  which,  when  he  re 
turned  home,  was  met  with  a  storm  of  abuse  and  denuncia 
tion.  No  argument,  sense  or  reason  was  used;  the  merits 
of  the  question  were  not  discussed;  but  general  maltreat 
ment  was  visited  upon  those  who  voted  for  "  back  pay  "  more 
viciously  than  it  had  ever  been  upon  the  blackest  violator  of 
virtue  or  most  brutal  shedder  of  human  blood. 


4-IO  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

MONEY  IN  POLITICS. 

At  the  special  session  of  the  senate,  convened  March  4, 
1873,  ti16  charges  against  Alex.  Caldwell,  of  Kansas,  of  secur 
ing  his  election  to  the  United  States  senate  through  bribery, 
came  up.  Carpenter  held  that  abundant  malice  but  no  brib 
ery  was  proved;  and  that  even  if  four  legislators,  as  charged, 
had  been  bribed  to  cast  their  votes  for  Caldwell,  they  did  not 
render  his  election  void  nor  change  the  result,  as  he  was 
chosen  by  a  majority  of  twenty-six.  During  this  debate 
Senator  Morton  expressed  his  indignation  at  the  use  of  money 
in  politics.  To  this  Carpenter  replied  with  rare  humor  but 
telling  effect.  He  ended:  "  Why,  sir,  in  Wisconsin  we  actu 
ally  spend  money  to  pay  clergymen  and  promulgate  the 
gospel! "  Caldwell  cut  all  proceedings  short  by  resigning. 

FORTY-THIRD  CONGRESS—  «  BACK  PAY." 

The  first  regular  session  of  the  forty-third  congress  began 
December  i,  1873.  Almost  the  first  thing  accomplished  was 
the  repeal  of  the  law  of  the  previous  session  increasing  the 
pay  of  various  federal  officials,  which,  so  far  as  senators  and 
representatives  were  concerned,  gave  rise  to  the  "  salary- 
grab  "  clamor.  Carpenter  opposed  and  aided  in  defeating 
the  amendment  reducing  the  President's  salary  to  $25,000, 
but  voted  for  the  provisions  restoring  the  pay  of  congressmen 
to  the  old  figure,  $5,000,  giving  his  reasons  therefor.  He 
said  he  charged  his  clients  what  he  thought  they  ought  to 
pay  for  his  services,  but  if  they  objected,  he  received  what 
they  were  willing  to  give  him.  To  quote  verbatim  : 

I  propose  to  deal  with  my  constituents  as  I  deal  with  my  clients.  If  we 
disagree  about  my  compensation,  I  shall  settle  with  them  upon  their  own 
terms.  When  the  salary  bill  came  before  the  senate  at  the  last  session,  I 
believed,  as  I  have  ever  since  I  had  any  opinion  upon  any  matter  whatever, 


ENEMY  S   PROPERTY   DEFINED.  4!  I 

that  the  only  way  to  obtain  a  sound  article  is  to  pay  a  sound  price,  and  that 
the  only  way  to  obtain  faithful  public  service  is  to  pay  a  fair  compensation. 
*  *  *  I  have  voted  to  increase  the  salaries  of  judges,  cabinet  officers, 
bureau  officers,  clerks  in  the  departments  and  all  other  public  servants.  I 
have  done  this  from  a  sense  of  duty.  I  never  acted  more  conscientiously 
in  my  life  than  when  I  voted  for  the  salary  bill  at  the  last  session.  I  have 
seen  nothing  to  lead  me  to  change  my  opinion.  I  have  read  columns  of 
abuse  without  one  sentence  of  argument,  and  I  can  see  but  one  reason  why 
this  law  should  be  repealed,  that  is,  the  people  demand  it  *  *  Could  the 
question  be  submitted  to  the  people  of  Wisconsin  to-day,  the  salary  law  of 
the  last  session  would  be  repealed  five  to  one.  *  *  Regarding  myself  as 
one  of  the  agents  of  the  people  of  Wisconsin  and  knowing  their  wishes,1  it 
is  my  pleasure  as  it  is  my  duty  to  vote  as  I  know  they  would  if  this  ques 
tion  could  be  submitted  to  them 

Not  one  member  of  either  house  of  congress  spoke  so 
frankly  in  regard  to  this  measure;  none  offered  sounder 
reasons  for  voting  to  increase  the  salaries  of  congressmen,  and 
none  bowed  with  greater  pleasure  to  the  judgment  of  the 
people  that  his  steps  must  be  retraced. 

ENEMY'S  PROPERTY  DEFINED. 

When  it  was  proposed  to  transfer  all  the  cases  pending 
before  the  southern  claims  commission  to  the  court  of  claims 
and  enlarge  the  jurisdiction  of  that  court,  Carpenter  renewed 
his  old  protest  against  opening  the  door  of  the  treasury  to 
every  person  who  would  swear  he  lost  property  by  the  Re 
bellion  and  was  "  loyal  in  spirit "  to  the  Union.  He  again 
contended  all  property  in  the  enemy's  country  was,  in  the 
eye  of  the  law,  enemy's  property,  liable  and  compelled  to 
furnish  sustenance  to  the  invaders,  although  the  owner  might 
not  be  disloyal  in  heart  or  act,  and  was  liable  to  destruction 
as  possessions  of  the  foe  without  creating  a  claim  against 
the  loyal  government.  The  supreme  court  had  repeatedly 
decided  that  the  Rebellion  was  a  "territorial  war;"  that  the 
south  was  the  enemy  of  the  north  as  fully  as  though  an 
ocean  had  rolled  between  them  and  they  had  never  been  under 

iThe  republican  state  convention  of  1873,  at  Madison,  adopted  a  resolu 
tion  condemning  the  "  salary-grab  "  law. 


412  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

one  government.     He  thus  illustrated  his  objection  to  pay 
ing  the  claims  coming  up  from  the  south: 

If  we  were  at  war  with  England,  for  instance,  and  sent  our  army  to  invade 
Canada,  the  moment  we  crossed  the  Canadian  line  we  should  be  in  enemy's 
country.  Any  person  domiciled  there,  doing  business  there,  is,  for  the 
purposes  of  war,  enemy's  person  and  enemy's  property ;  and  we  could  no 
more  distinguish  between  the  property  of  an  American  citizen  residing 
there  and  the  property  of  a  British  subject  residing  there  than  we  could 
draw  any  other  distinction  that  has  no  existence.  And  the  destruction  of 
the  property  of  that  American  citizen  would  not  create  a  legal  claim 
against  the  American  government. 

Carpenter  voted  against  the  bill  reducing  the  army,  be 
cause  it  was  a  portion  of  the  appropriation  bill,  which  must 
pass;  but  not  until  he  had  roundly  denounced  the  "vicious 
custom  of  engrafting  general  legislation  on  appropriation 
bills."  Other  members  denounced  the  custom  but  voted 
for  the  bill. 

A  SENATOR'S  LUXURIES. 

The  franking  privilege  having  been  repealed,  it  was  pro 
posed  to  discontinue  printing  large  quantities  of  the  various 
public  documents.  This  Carpenter  opposed,  saying  the 
people  had  a  right  to  know  what  their  servants  were  doing. 
He  discloses  some  interesting  facts: 

I  hope  the  senate  will  continue  to  print  documents,  and  that  members 
will  distribute  them.  Congress  voted  to  abolish  what  was  styled  the  frank 
ing  privilege,  and  on  the  motion  of  the  senator  from  Vermont  [Mr.  Mor- 
rill]  declared  that  no  allowance  for  postage  should  thereafter  be  made  to 
members.  It  was  universally  recognized  as  one  of  the  duties  of  members 
of  congress  to  distribute  the  documents  published  for  that  purpose.  By 
the  law  as  it  then  stood,  these  documents  were  transmitted  as  free  matter, 
under  the  frank  or  signature  of  a  member  of  congress.  When  congress 
abolished  this  provision  of  law,  and  provided  that  no  allowance  should  be 
made  to  members  for  postage,  I  suppose  it  was  intended  that  members 
should  pay  the  postage  upon  all  mail  matter  which  had  previously  been 
transmitted  under  the  frank.  I  understood  this  to  be  imposing  upon  every 
senator  about  $1,000  per  annum  in  postage.  I  thought  this  was  unjust,  and 
therefore  voted  against  the  bill.  But  the  bill  passed.  The  superintendent 
of  documents  has  furnished  me  a  statement  that  the  postage  on  documents 
alone,  based  upon  the  amount  published  in  the  last  congress,  will  be  $921.87 


FOREIGN   PROVINCES   IN   AMERICA. 

per  annum.  The  other  postage  paid  by  members  upon  matter  of  public 
business  will  be  at  least  $200  per  annum;  that  is  $1,121.87  m  a^>  Per 
annum.  This  change  in  the  law,  together  with  the  abolition  of  mileage, 
which  averaged  about  $400  to  each  member,  and  the  abolition  of  allowance 
for  stationery,  $125  per  annum,  were  reasons,  among  others,  which  induced 
me  to  vote  for  the  increase  of  salary  to  the  amount  of  $7,500. 

The  idea  of  divorcing  the  government  from  the  people,  as  we  must  do  if 
we  stop  distributing  the  documents  which  are  published  by  congress,  strikes 
me  as  being  a  fatal  blow  at  the  theory  of  our  government  and  its  perfect 
administration.  The  people  should  know  what  we  are  doing,  and  should 
know  it  accurately  and  truly,  and  while  congress  is  too  virtuous  to  frank  a 
document  and  let  it  go  at  the  expense  of  the  nation,  let  us  pay  our  postage; 
and  if  we  have  not  anything  left,  we  do  not  come  here  to  make  money;  we 
do  not  come  here  to  get  our  expenses  even.  We  come  here,  as  we  are 
informed  by  the  people,  and  I  now  fully  believe  it,  for  the  glory  of  the 
thing.  Now,  let  us  take  the  glory  and  let  us  spend  the  few  dollars  we  have 
left  over  our  board  bills  in  paying  the  postage  on  these  documents;  and  as 
long  as  that  method  of  administration  is  agreeable  to  the  majority  of  con 
gress  no  member  has  a  right  to  complain ;  and  when  it  gets  to  be  disagree 
able  congress  can  provide  that  these  documents,  being  certified  to  by  the 
printing  office,  or  by  a  clerk  in  the  senate,  or  by  some  other  officer  to  be 
appointed,  shall  go  from  Washington  to  the  people  free  of  postage. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  franking  privilege,  for  the  benefit  of 
the  people,  not  of  congressmen,  was  soon  after  restored. 

FOREIGN  PROVINCES  IN  AMERICA. 

Senator  Windom,  at  this  session,  presented  a  bill  to  allow 
an  agent  of  the  Mennonites,  in  South  Russia,  to  locate  and 
hold  for  two  years,  "in  a  compact  body,"  five  hundred 
thousand  acres  of  the  public  domain,  and  at  any  time  during 
those  two  years  to  settle  on  such  lands.  Carpenter  opposed 
the  measure.  He  said  that  while  heretofore  all  nationalities 
had  been  treated  alike  and  given  the  same  privileges  upon 
the  public  domain,  it  "  was  now  proposed  to  establish  a  for 
eign  colony  in  this  country." 

It  was,  he  affirmed,  establishing  a  dangerous  precedent; 
for  if  a  colony  of  Russian  nihilists  or  French  communists 
should  next  ask  for  the  exclusive  use  of  a  separate  county, 
their  request  could  not  consistently  be  denied.  He  also 


414  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

pointed  out  that  as  the  Mennonites  were  not  to  become  citi 
zens,  we  should  have  a  large  colony  of  people  founding 
homes  and  wealth  out  of  and  upon  our  domain,  but  remain 
ing,  in  all  probability,  subject  to  the  military  laws  of  Russia; 
that  at  least  the  question  of  whether  we  could  hold  them  to  mil 
itary  service  would  be  an  international  and  difficult  one,  and 
that  in  the  remote  contingency  of  a  war  with  Russia  a  large 
colony  in  our  midst  might  be  compelled  to  fight  against  the 
country  affording  them  homes  and  protection.  The  bill  did 
not  pass. 

AN  HISTORICAL  CHAPTER. 

Carpenter  was  chosen  to  present  to  congress  the  unpub 
lished  documents  containing  a  record  of  the  doings  of  Earl 
St.  Germans  during  the  Carlist  war  in  the  Basque  provinces. 
The  exceedingly  clear  and  clever  manner  in  which,  in  doing 
it,  he  covered  the  salient  points  in  that  famous  insurrection,  is 
not  only  interesting  but  valuable: 

These  are  the  official  papers  of  Lord  Elliot's  (since  Earl  St.  Germans) 
mission  to  Spain  in  the  spring  of  1835,  at  the  beginning  of  the  Carlist  war 
in  the  Basque  provinces,  where,  history  repeating  itself  now,  more  than  an 
average  generation  afterwards,  another  Carlist  war  is  raging. 

The  facts  are  briefly  these:  Before  the  death  of  King  Ferdinand  II,  of 
Spain,  he  had  married,  in  his  old  age,  a  sister  of  the  King  of  Naples,  nick 
named  King  Bomba,  from  his  bombarding  his  own  capital,  who  was  finally 
expelled  by  Garibaldi.  This  was  Queen  Christina,  the  mother  of  Queen 
Isabella.  The  law  of  succession  in  Spain  was  the  salic  law,  by  which  fe 
males  were  excluded  from  the  throne.  Queen  Christina  caused  the  king  to 
convene  the  cortes;  and  through  the  inducement  of  giving  to  Spain  a  con 
stitutional  government,  obtained  the  formal  abrogation  of  that  law;  also  the 
declaration  that  her  daughter,  on  the  king's  demise,  should  succeed  to  the 
throne  under  the  title  of  Isabella  II,  and  that  she,  during  her  daughter's 
minority,  should  be  regent. 

King  Ferdinand  had  a  brother,  Don  Carlos,  the  grandfather  of  the  Don 
Carlos  now  contending  for  his  claims  and  in  his  right.  The  claim  was  that 
the  abrogation  of  the  salic  law  could  have  no  retroactive  effect,  whatever 
it  might  do  in  the  future,  and  hence  could  not  affect  his  right  to  the  throne. 
He  made  a  formal  protest,  and  retired  to  Portugal.  Ferdinand  died  soon 
after.  Isabella  was  proclaimed  queen,  and  Queen  Christina  regent.  About 
the  middle  of  1834  the  inhabitants  of  the  Basque  provinces  rose  under  the 


AX   HISTORICAL   CHAPTER.  415 

famous  Zumal-acarregui,  and  Don  Carlos  joined  them,  assuming  the  title 
of  Charles  V.  In  the  war  that  ensued  no  quarter  was  given  on  either  side, 
each  party  treating  the  other  as  rebels,  until  Lord  Elliot  went  out  on  his  mis 
sion  of  mercy,  and  succeeded  in  inducing  both  parties  to  sign  a  convention, 
by  which  all  captives  taken  in  arms  wero  in  future  to  be  treated  as  prisoners 
of  war.  This  was  in  April,  1835,  the  war  having  then  lasted  about  nine 
months,  the  prisoners  shot  in  cold  blood  numbering  at  least  two  thousand. 

The  war  terminated  on  the  3ist  of  August,  1839,  or  four  and  a  half  years 
afterward.  After  the  Elliot  convention  no  prisoners  of  war  were  shot,  and 
we  may  assume  that  from  ten  to  twelve  thousand  lives  were  saved  by  this 
humane  intervention,  from  the  fact  that  the  war  lasted  six  times  as  long 
after  the  convention  as  it  had  existed  before  it.  And  considering  that  the 
war  spread  over  a  much  larger  extent  of  country  and  greater  numbers 
were  engaged,  it  is  probable  that  from  thirty  to  fifty  thousand  lives  were 
thus  saved. 

Few  diplomatists  can  console  themselves  in  the  decline  of  life  on  such 
humanitarian  success  having  crowned  their  efforts,  and  it  is  only  justice  to 
add  that,  though  then  a  young  man,  the  skill  and  discretion  with  which  he 
executed  his  seemingly  hopeless  mission  entitle  him  to  the  gratitude  of  the 
civilized  world. 

The  British  government  was  then  under  treaty  obligations  never  to  rec 
ognize  Don  Carlos,  nor  permit  the  intervention  of  other  powers  in  his 
favor,  and  to  do  all  they  could  to  prevent  any  military  or  material  aid  from 
reaching  him. 

By  a  change  in  the  cabinet,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  having  succeeded 
Lord  Palmerston,  the  former  commissioned  Lord  Elliot  to  mediate  between 
the  contending  parties,  to  urge  on  them  the  necessity  of  making  some 
arrangement  which  should  put  an  end  to  the  mode  of  warfare  which  had 
excited  "  the  most  painful  sensations  through  Europe."  Lord  Elliot  was 
at  the  same  time  instructed  frankly  to  inform  Don  Carlos  and  his  generals 
that  the  British  cabinet  was  bound  by  the  treaty  before  mentioned,  and 
that  they  must  entertain  no  hope  of  a  change  in  the  policy  of  the  govern 
ment. 

The  papers  relating  to  this  negotiation  have  never  been  published,  but 
were  sent  by  Earl  St.  Germans  to  General  C.  F.  Henningsen,  of  Washing 
ton,  whom  he  had  known  as  an  officer  in  the  Carlist  army,  on  the  condition 
that  they  should  not  be  published,  because  some  of  them,  though  the  least 
important,  he  considered  to  be  the  property  of  the  British  government,  but 
with  permission  to  place  one  copy  in  the  library  of  General  Albert  Pike, 
and  one  copy  to  be  presented  to  the  senate  of  the  United  States  for  its 
library  by  any  senator  whom  Messrs.  Pike  and  Henningsen  might  request 
to  do  so.  At  their  request,  I  make  this  presentation. 


416  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

CUBAN  FREEDOM. 

On  April  16,  1874,  Carpenter  introduced  a  paper  whose 
preamble  declared  that  "  it  is  the  clear  and  undoubted  right 
of  any  American  colony  to  sever  its  connection  with  the 
mother  country,  and  establish  itself  as  an  independent  nation, 
whenever  the  good  of  its  people  demands  it,"  and  resolving 
that  it  "  had  become  the  duty  of  the  United  States  to  recog 
nize  Cuba  as  one  of  the  independent  nations  of  the  earth," 
and  that  the  contending  parties  should  be  accorded  belliger 
ent  rights  and  equal  privileges  and  advantages  in  all  the 
ports  of  the  United  States.  This  was  not  adopted,  and  a 
terrible  guerrilla  warfare  continued  until  1878  on  the  island, 
which  still  belongs  to  Spain. 

ANOTHER  CIVIL  RIGHTS  BILL. 

On  May  22,  1874,  Carpenter  voted  against  the  substitute 
for  Charles  Sumner's  civil  rights  bill,  providing  that  colored 
people  should  have  equal  rights  and  privileges  with  the 
whites  in  juries,  churches,  schools,  theaters,  etc.,  most  par 
ticularly  because  section  4  prescribed  the  qualifications  of 
jurors  in  state  courts,  which  he  held  to  be  unconstitutional. 
He  thought  no  state  could  be  interfered  with  in  prescribing 
the  qualifications  of  jurors  for  its  own  courts. 

IMPOSTS,  COMMERCE  AND  SUFFRAGE. 

It  was  attempted  during  this  session  to  hustle  through  a 
number  of  bills  allowing  certain  persons  respectively  to  im 
port  free  of  duty  paintings,  statuary  and  animals  for  a  zo 
ological  garden.  One  of  them  slipped  through  the  senate 
on  a  day  when  Carpenter  was  ill,  but  subsequently  he  left  the 
chair  and  attacked  all  of  them  as  unconstitutional.  He  held 
that  the  impost  duties,  on  art  goods  and  menageries  were 
intended  for  all  persons  the  same  as  the  duties  on  iron,  liq 
uors,  or  silks.  Congress  granted  no  further  privileges  to 
violate  the  constitution  during  the  session. 


FIRST    TERM    ENDED.  417 

Senator  Winclom  reported  a  resolution  asking  for  an  ap 
propriation  to  make  surveys  for  the  improvement,  by  the 
government,  of-  the  Mississippi  river;  making  a  continous 
water-route  from  the  Mississippi  to  New  York  via  the  Great 
Lakes,  the  Fox  and  Wisconsin  rivers,  in  Wisconsin,  and  the 
Hudson  river,  in  New  York;  opening  a  water-route  from 
the  Mississippi  to  the  ocean  via  the  Ohio  and  Kenawha  riv 
ers  and  a  canal,  and  another  route  from  the  Mississippi  via 
the  Ohio  and  Tennessee  rivers  and  a  canal  or  freight  railway 
to  the  ocean.  Carpenter  favored  the  appropriation  because 
he  thought  it  would  commit  the  government  to  the  broad 
system  of  internal  improvements  recommended  by  Senator 
Windom,  "  and,"  said  he,  "  I  shall  go  the  whole  programme, 
Mr.  President."  The  scheme  failed  to  carry. 

Carpenter  favored,  and  made  a  strong  argument  in  sup 
port  of,  a  bill  providing  that  foreign  corporations  might  be 
sued  through  the  agent  located  in  any  state  in  which  the  suit 
arose,  as  otherwise,  in  many  cases,  it  would  be  impossible  for 
poor  people  to  obtain  justice. 

While  a  bill  to  create  the  new  territory  of  Pembina  was 
pending,  an  amendment,  providing  that  in  that  territory  the 
right  of  suffrage  should  not  be  abridged  on  account  of  sex, 
was  offered  by  Senator  Sargent.  Carpenter  not  only  voted 
for  the  amendment,  but  made  an  eloquent  speech  in  favor  of 
universal  suffrage,  as  a  cure  for  many  evils  that  could,  by 
no  other  means,  he  said,  ever  be  eradicated  from  our  pol 
itics. 

FIRST  TERM  ENDED. 

The  second  session  of  the  forty-third  congress,  which  began 
December  7,  1874,  was  tame.  It  was  the  last  session  in  Car 
penter's  term,  and  extended  over  the  period  of  the  campaign 
for  his  re-election,  in  which  he  was  finally  defeated  by  a  few 
bolters,  as  we  already  know,  fifter  having  been  regularly 
nominated  by  a  caucus  of  his  party.  However,  he  was  ab- 
27 


41 8  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

sent  from  his  seat  but  a  few  days,  during  the  most  exciting 
and  decisive  hours  at  Madison,  where  the  legislature  of  Wis 
consin  was  in  session. 

ANOTHER  PROPHECY  FULFILLED 

B.  F.  Butler,  of  Massachusetts,  reported  in  the  house  a 
civil  rights  bill  similar  to  that  drafted  by  Charles  Sumner  and 
defeated  in  the  senate.  Carpenter  made  a  speech  against 
those  portions  which  he  regarded  as  unconstitutional,  em 
phatically  the  clause  providing  qualifications  for  jurors  in  state 
courts.  He  quoted  various  decisions  in  support  of  his  ob 
jection  to  engrafting  such  a  provision  upon  the  statutes  of  the 
country;  one  by  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States,  in 
16  of  Wallace,  being  particularly  apt  and  conclusive.  He 
contended  that  the  right  to  serve  on  a  jury  in  any  state  court 
was  a  right  of  state  citizenship  only,1  not  a  right  of  United 
States  citizenship,  making  use  of  this  illustration: 

If  the  right  to  serve  as  juror  in  the  state  of  Massachusetts,  for  instance, 
were  a  right  which  pertained  to  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  as  such,  then 
it  would  follow  that  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  residing  in  New  York 
or  California,  would  have  as  much  right  to  serve  as  a  juror  in  the  courts  of 
Massachusetts  as  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  residing  in  that  state. 

After  combating  the  unconstitutionality  of  the  measure 
generally,  he  closed: 

The  supreme  court  of  the  United  States,  in  two  well  considered  decisions, 
have  settled  principles  upon  which  the  validity  of  this  bill  must  be  denied, 
and  every  circuit  court  in  which  a  suit  may  be  commenced  under  its  provis 
ions  will  be  compelled,  in  proper  judicial  subordination,  to  rule  against  a 
recovery;  its  only  effect,  therefore,  will  be  to  involve  the  colored  man  in  liti 
gation  in  which  he  is  certain  to  be  defeated,  "keeping  the  promise  to  his  ear 
and  breaking  it  to  his  hope/' 

From  the  consideration  which  I  have  briefly  stated,  I  am  compelled  to 
vote  against  the  bill.  I  can  understand  how  an  orator  like  the  senator  from 
Indiana  [Morton]  could  inflame  the  passions  of  a  popular  assembly  and 

I  The  United  States  supreme  court  has  affirmed  this  doctrine  clearly  and 
emphatically. 


"ATTORNEY  AT  LAW."  419 

rally  it  to  support  the  provisions  of  this  bill,  but  I  confess  my  astonishment 
and  my  sorrow  that  he  can  carry  along  with  him  the  highest  court  of  the 
hind,  the  senate  of  the  United  States,  and  pass  this  bill  through  all  the  forms 
of  enactment.  I  am  consoled,  however,  by  the  confidence  that,  if  it  shall 
become  a  law,  the  judicial  courts  will  intervene  to  vindicate  the  constitution. 

On  October  15,  1883,  this  civil  rights  bill,  before  the  United 
States  supreme  court  on  appeal,  was  held  invalid  and  void, 
unconstitutional  and  inoperative,  except  in  the  territories  and 
the  District  of  Columbia.  Thus  is  another  prediction  fulfilled 
to  the  letter.  The  opinion  of  the  court,  by  Justice  Bradley, 
contained  several  of  the  objections  urged  by  Carpenter 
against  the  bill  in  the  speech  from  which  the  foregoing  ex 
tracts  are  made. 

« ATTORNEY  AT  LAW." 

It  is  customary  for  visitors  at  Washington  to  purchase  lib 
erally  the  photographs  of  favorite  senators,  generally  requir 
ing  an  autograph  upon  each  picture.  Just  before  midnight 
of  March  3,  1875,  a  Pa»e  ran  to  Carpenter  with  a  package 
of  photographs,  and  asked  an  autograph  upon  each*  Taking 
ttem  in  hand,  he  leaned  back  and  waited  patiently  for  the 
senate  clock  to  point  the  hour  of  midnight.  At  that  instant 
he  seized  a  pen  and  wrote  upon  the  several  cards:  "Matt.  H. 
Carpenter,  attorney  at  law"  He  was  no  longer  a  senator. 
His  first  term  expired  at  twelve  o'clock  and  he  was  then 
simply  an  "  attorney  at  law." 


42O  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

RE-APPEARANCE  IN  THE   SENATE. 

Having  been  elected  to  succeed  T.  O.  Howe,  Carpenter 
was  sworn  in  as  a  senator  of  the  forty-sixth  congress  on 
Tuesday,  March  16,  1879,  on  which  day  a  special  session 
was  convened  by  President  Hayes  for  the  purpose  of  mak 
ing  the  necessary  federal  appropriations,  which  had  been 
refused  by  the  previous  democratic  congress.  He  drew  seat 
number  forty-five,  between  John  A.  Logan,  of  Illinois,  and 
Henry  W.  Blair,  of  New  Hampshire.  He  was  so  cordially 
greeted  on  all  sides,  that  although  not  in  robust  health,  and 
having  a  heavy  law  practice  on  his  hands  that  could  not  be 
relinquished,  thus  adding  to  his  labors,  he  greatly  enjoyed 
the  return  to  congress. 

One  of  his  principal  constitutional  speeches  during  this 
session  was  upon  the  case  of  John  Bell,  appointed  by  the 
governor  of  New  Hampshire,  under  peculiar  circumstances? 
as  a  senator  from  that  state.  The  legislature  adjourned  its 
last  regular  session  before  the  date  of  the  expiration  of  Wad- 
leigh's  term,  March  3,  1879,  without  electing  his  successor. 
A  new  constitution  had  just  been  adopted,  under  which  a 
new  legislature  would  convene  in  June,  1879.  1°  ^e  mean 
time  the  governor  appointed  Bell  to  be  a  senator  until  the 
new  legislature  should  organize  and  elect  his  successor. 
Carpenter  contended  that  Bell  had  no  right  to  a  seat ;  that 
the  governor  possessed  no  power  to  appoint  a  senator  at  the 
end  of  a  regularly  expired  term,  and  that  the  old  legislature 
was  notfunctus  officio  until  the  day  fixed  for  the  meeting  of  the 
nsvv  legislature,  although  the  members  of  the  new  body 
might  have  been  elected  six  or  twelve  months  before.  He 
demonstrated  with  more  than  ordinary  conclusiveness  that 
Bell  could  not  be  constitutionally  seated,  for  the  reason  that 
the  old  legislature  was  in  existence  at  the  end  of  Wadleigh's 


FIGHTING   THE    MEXICANIZERS.  421 

term  and  should  have  chosen  his  successor,  and  because 
governors  have  power  only  to  temporarily  fill  such  vacancies 
in  the  United  States  senate  as  "  happen  "  during  a  recess  of  the 
legislature  "by  death,  resignation  or  otherwise "  —meaning 
vacancies  unexpectedly  occurring  between  the  beginning  and 
end  of  some  regular  term  that  had  been,  by  the  legislature, 
regularly  filled.  Mr.  Bell,  however,  received  his  seat,  but 
during  the  next  session  of  congress  Carpenter  presented  a 
bill  intended  to  forever  debar  from  the  future  controversies 
of  this  kind. 

FIGHTING  THE  MEXICANIZERS. 

The  democratic  party,  it  must  be  stated  here,  had  a  ma 
jority  in  both  houses  of  congress.  The  leaders  were  dis 
satisfied  because  the  previous  senate,  after  a  lengthy  and 
exhaustive  investigation  of  the  contest  between  Wm.  P.  Kel 
logg  and  H.  M.  Spoflbrd,  chosen  by  rival  legislatures  to 
represent  Louisiana  in  the  United  States  senate,  decided 
that  the  former  had  been  duly  elected  and  was  entitled  to  a 
seat.  They  therefore,  having  the  sheer  power  of  a  partisan 
majority,  determined  to  re-open  the  contest  that  had  by  an 
other  senate  been  regularly  and  conclusively  settled,  drive 
out  Kellogg  and  admit  Spofford.  On  this  extraordinary 
proposition  to  Mexicanize  the  senate  Carpenter  delivered 
two  arguments  that  will  be  referred  to  forever  as  settling  the 
doctrine  of  res  adjudicata  in  that  body.  In  opening,  he  de 
posed  that  he  laughed  on  first  hearing  that  the  majority  pro 
posed  to  assail  the  seat  of  the  senator  from  Louisiana,  for 
"  bad  as  the  democrats  had  shown  themselves  to  be,"  he 
"  could  not  believe  they  would  undertake  anything  so  utterly 
revolutionary  and  so  entirely  unparalleled  in  partisan  atroc 
ity."  He  contended  that  Kellogg,  having  been  admitted 
after  a  full  and  fair  investigation,  had  a  stronger  title  to  his 
seat  than  any  other  member  of  the  senate,  the  usual  custom 
being  to  swear  in  senators  on  prima  facie  cases  without  in 
vestigations. 


422 


LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 


Kellogg's  case,  therefore,  was  res  adjudicate  —  settled  for 
ever,  beyond  any  power  to  re-open  or  reverse  it.  Other 
wise,  he  said,  every  republican  senator  in  the  chamber  could 
be  expelled  whenever  the  democrats  might  have  a  majority. 
He  held  that  the  senate,  in  determining  who  should  consti 
tute  its  members,  acted  in  a  judicial  capacity  and  under  the 
constitution,  and  its  judgment,  as  in  the  case  of  impeach 
ment,  or  like  that  of  the  United  States  supreme  court,  not 
being  reviewable,  was  final  and  irreversible.  "  Otherwise," 
to  use  his  exact  words,  "this  absurd  result  follows:  The 
senate,  which  under  the  constitution  has  the  right  to  settle 
this  question,  never  could  settle  it;  *  *  and  there  is  not  a 
seat  in  this  body  that  could  not  be  taken  away  upon  such  a 
principle." 

Senator  Hill,  of  Georgia,  was  the  chief  advocate  of  the 
scheme  to  re-investigate  Kellogg's  title  to  office,  and  with 
him  Carpenter  held  his  principal  controversy.  He  drove 
Hill  irresistibly  before  him,  showing  by  the  history  of  all 
nations  how  untenable  and  unnatural  were  his  propositions. 
Hill  finally  intrenched  himself  behind  the  seductive  and  glit 
tering  sophism  that  "  nothing  could  be  settled  until  it  was 
settled  right,"  and  renewed  the  attempt  to  unseat  Kellogg  at 
the  next  session.  In  arguing  against  this  proposition,  as  ad 
vocated  by  Senators  Hill,  Eaton,  Thurman  and  Vest,  Car 
penter  eclipsed  many  former  efforts.  He  showed,  by  the 
decisions  of  three  hundred  years,  that  even  the  errors  of  a 
court  of  last  resort  do  not  affect  the  validity  of  its  decisions 
nor  give  the  prerogative  of  a  reversal.  The  judgments  of  a 
court  of  finality  must  always,  right  or  wrong,  stand,  else 
there  could  be  no  end  of  strife.  His  illustration  was  this: 

Judges  have  been  impeached  for  judicial  corruption;  but  there  is  not  an 
instance  in  the  judicial  history  of  the  world  of  a  judgment  ever  reversed  on 
that  ground;  and  why?  I  go  before  a  judge  on  the  bench  to-day,  and  say, 
"Your  predecessor  last  year  was  corrupt,  and  rendered  a  judgment  influ 
enced  by  bribery ;  I  want  you  to  reverse  it ; "  he  is  satisfied  this  is  true,  and 
reverses  it.  The  other  party  comes  back  to  his  successor  and  says :  "  I 
got  a  judgment  before  an  honest  judge,  but  my  opponent  came  next  year  to 


SHIELDS   AND   WEBSTER.  423 

a  dishonest  judge,  and  bribed  him  to  reverse  the  honest  judgment;  I  ask 
you  to  set  it  back  again."  He  would  be  justified  in  setting  it  back.  So  a- 
question  could  never  be  settled. 

He  further  illustrated  the  fallacy  of  Hill's  proposition  by 
showing  that  if  a  man  should,  after  having  been  admitted  to 
a  seat  in  the  senate,  be  turned  out  the  next  year,  because  it 
was  supposed  evidence  showing  he  was  not  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  had  been  discovered,  he  must  be  re-instated, 
if,  in  the  third  year,  it  should  be  discovered  the  evidence  of 
the  second  year  was  false,  and  he  really  had  been  a  citizen 
all  the  time ;  and  so  on  ad  infinitum.  In  closing,  he  made  an 
appeal  to  the  democrats,  which  must  have  had  effect,  for 
they  followed  Carpenter's  and  not  the  advice  of  their  own 
leader,  Ben.  Hill,  and  left  Kellogg  undisturbed: 

Now  I  beg  that  the  senate  shall  not,  in  this  temporary  eclipse  o.  re 
publicanism,  suffer  a  degradation  never  charged  upon  it  before.  Let  us 
have  one  place  where  law  can  be  heard  and  be  respected.  Let  us  have  one: 
place  where  justice,  without  compulsion,  without  being  strained,  as  thej 
say  mercy  is  not,  is  administered,  and  where  political  majorities  have  noth 
ing  to  do  with  such  questions.  Not  a  fact  has  transpired  since  Kellogg  was 
seated  except  that  the  political  majority  has  changed.  Let  us  decide  this 
case  so  as  to  give  to  the  whole  country  the  assurance  that  the  mere  chang 
ing  of  political  sentiments  of  members  in  this  chamber  does  not  change  the 
principles  of  action  which  govern  the  senate  when  it  acts  in  a  judicial 
capacity. 

SHIELDS  AND  WEBSTER. 

After  the  death  of  brave  old  General  James  Shields,  a  bill 
was  presented  authorizing  his  pension  of  $100  per  month  to 
be  continued  to  his  widow  and  children,  and  it  was  proposed 
to  amend  it  by  providing  also  a  pension  for  the  widow  of 
Colonel  Webster.  He  made  a  short  but  resounding  speech 
in  favor  of  separate  bills,  declaring  he  wanted,  when  he  did 
'  a  handsome  thing,  to  do  it  in  a  handsome  way,  and  objected 
to  having  any  law  on  the  books  that  would  look  as  though  it 
was  passed  by  means  of  log-rolling  or  a  combination;  "but 
let  it  appear  that  each  man's  name  carried  the  pension  to  his 
own  posterity."  Thus  the  bills  passed. 


424  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

A  NATIONAL  DISGRACE. 

Early  in  this  special  session  Carpenter  renewed  his  efforts 
to  strengthen  the  judicial  system  and  simplify  and  facilitate  the 
administration  of  justice.  His  great  knowledge  of  the  prac 
tice  in  all  the  courts  rendered  his  efforts  effective,  and  he 
had  the  sympathy  of  judges  everywhere.  He  was  particu 
larly  anxious  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  the  senate  on  a 
measure  to  reconstruct  a  jury  system  for  the  federal  courts. 
Referring  to  this  very  important  matter,  which  is  still  a  judi 
cial  scandal,  on  June  16,  1879,  ^e  said: 

There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  trial  by  jury  in  any  federal  court  that  I  know 
of.  In  our  country  it  is  a  trial  by  the  marshal  and  the  clerk,  who  can  con 
vict  or  acquit  any  man  they  please  by  packing  a  jury.  Our  whole  system 
of  criminal  jurisprudence  in  the  federal  courts  is  a  disgrace  to  the  nation. 
The  theory  adopted  for  compensating  United  States  district  attorneys  is 
•simply  a  scandal ;  it  is  offering  a  bribe  to  them  to  produce  convictions.  We 
pay  them,  I  believe,  about  $250  per  year  salary,  and  then  give  them  so 
much  for  every  fellow  they  can  convict,  and  a  smaller  sum  lor  an  acquittal. 
In  other  words,  they  are  bribed  to  convict  a  man  if  they  possibly  can. 

During  his  previous  term  in  the  senate  he  had  tried  in  vain 
to  secure  a  writ  of  error  in  criminal  matters  from  federal 
courts  to  the  United  States  supreme  court,  and  in  the  speech 
from  which  the  preceding  extract  is  made  he  thus  referred 
to  that  subject: 

We  have  in  the  federal  courts  no  perfect  system  for  administering  criminal 
justice.  A  man  maybe  sentenced  in  Oregon  by  a  district  (federal)  judge 
for  murder  on  a  judgment  notoriously  erroneous ;  and  yet,  strange  to  say, 
there  is  no  way  whatever  by  which  to  reverse  that  decision.  A  man  may 
come  to  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States  to  try  the  title  to  his  farm, 
if  it  be  01  the  value  of  $5,000;  but  if  nothing  but  his  life  is  at  stake,  no 
writ  of  error  shall  be  allowed,  no  appellate  court  shall  hear  an  exception,  no 
writ  of  error  shall  be  issued  under  any  circumstances.  All  that  is  simply 
disgraceful. 

He  closed  by  begging  the  lawyers  of  the  senate  to  join 
with  him  in  working  out  a  remedy  for  these  judicial  idiosyn 
crasies,  but  each  having  his  own  ax  to  grind,  they  could  not 
then  be  induced  to  comply  with  his  request.  Had  he  lived, 


FREE    RIOTS   ON    ELECTION    DAY.  425 

however,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  would  have  succeeded 
in  this  undertaking. 

SEA-SICKNESS  IN  WASHINGTON. 

In  making  appropriations  for  the  army,  and  especially 
in  formulating  regulations  for  the  United  States  Military 
Academy,  Carpenter's  knowledge  and  advice  were  particu 
larly  valuable.  He  offered  the  clause  to  the  army  bill  which 
repealed  all  laws  preventing  promotions  in  the  regular  army, 
and  carefully  watched  the  military  school  at  West  Point.  He 
made  no  pretenses,  however,  in  regard  to  the  navy,  and  when, 
during  the  discussion,  Senator  Withers  questioned  him  on  this 
subject,  he  threw  the  senate  into  a  roar  by  the  reply,  "  I  know 
nothing  about  the  navy.  I  never  sailed.  I  am  sea-sick  when 
ever  I  pass  the  navy  department." 

FREE  RIOTS  ON  ELECTION  DAY. 

By  far  the  strongest  speech  of  this  session  was  that  by 
Carpenter  against  the  fifth  clause  of  the  army  appropriation 
bill,  which  declared  that  "  no  money  should  be  paid  for  the 
subsistence,  equipment,  transportation  or  compensation  of  any 
portion  of  the  army  of  the  United  States  to  be  used  as  a 
police  force  to  keep  the  peace  at  the  polls  at  any  election  held 
in  the  United  States." 

The  apparent  viciousness  of  this  clause,  from  the  standpoint 
of  one  who  loved  his  country  more  than  his  party,  and  sin 
cerely  desired  honest  elections,  brought  all  of  Carpenter's 
splendid  powers  into  full  play,  heightened  and  intensified  by 
the  indignation  he  could  not  conceal.  To  him  the  bill  was 
an  unmasked  attempt  to  render  the  government  powerless 
to  protect  the  ballot-box  from  those  barbarous  outrages 
which  had  rendered  southern  politics  a  reproach  to  free 
institutions  and  southern  elections  the  very  essence  of  traves 
ties  and  tragedies.  He  held  that  under  such  a  law  the  Pres 
ident  could  not,  as  the  constitution  provides,  send  the  army 


426  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

to  quell  any  disturbance  or  riot  at  the  polls,  even  when  called 
upon  by  a  state  in  the  usual  way. 

Although  the  measure  was  craftily  worded,  he  said,  in 
order  to  inveigle  the  President  into  signing  what  might  to 
him  have  the  outward  appearance  of  innocence,  it  was  in 
reality  the  most  dangerous  assault  upon  the  purity  of  the 
ballot-box  that  had  ever  been  attempted  in  a  free  country, 
and  the  courts,  if  called  upon,  would  s.o  construe  its  intent, 
"  for  (using  his  exact  language)  at  the  close  of  the  last  session 
it  was  openly  declared  in  this  chamber  that  the  power  of  the 
President  to  employ  the  army  to  keep  the  peace  at  the  polls 
must  be  given  up  or  no  appropriations  would  be  made  to 
carry  on  the  government.  This  compelled  the  extra  ses 
sion." 

As  he  progressed,  gathering  strength  as  he  entered  deeper 
into  the  iniquity  of  the  subject,  the  opposition  could  not  keep 
silent  under  the  tremendous  destruction  of  his  fire  and  his 
bolts.  Senator  Hill  interrupted  with  a  suggestion  as  to 
what  constituted  real  loyalty,  and  informed  him  of  the  ways 
in  which  the  government  could  be  broken  up.  This  was  an 
unfortunate  moment  for  the  southern  senator.  Carpenter 
turned  upon  him  with  spirit,  saying  he  always  listened  with 
reverence  and  attention  to  that  teacher  who  was  most  famil 
iar  with  the  subject  in  hand.  He  therefore  admitted  the 
great  qualification  of  Mr.  Hill  to  instruct  as  to  what  would 
break  up  the  government,  for  he  had  voted  for  secession, 
voted  for  the  ordinance  which  took  Georgia  out  of  the  Union, 
was  one  of  Jeff.  Davis'  chief  advisers,  and  for  four  years 
had  his  hands  on  all  the  springs  and  did  all  in  his  power  to 
destroy  the  government  of  the  United  States. 

This  terrible  blow,  whose  force  is  but  slightly  indicated 
here,  struck  and  disabled  so  many  of  the  advocates  of  free 
riot  on  election  days  that  for  a  time  it  dazed  and  entirely 
silenced  the  opposition.  Each  interruption  had  brought 
from  Carpenter  a  more  effective  and  disastrous  sally,  until 


FREE   RIOTS   ON   ELECTION   DAY.  427 

the  free  rioters  became  glad  to  hold  their  peace  and  give 
unobstructed  sway  to  his  arraignment. 

Before  closing  he  made  an  argument  to  show  the  total 
unccnstitutionality  of  the  bill  under  section  2  of  article  2, 
and  then  said: 

What  look  has  this  bill  on  its  face?  The  President  of  the  United  States 
may  use  the  money  appropriated  to  clothe,  equip,  transport  and  compensate 
troops  to  keep  the  peace  everywhere  in  the  nation  on  three  hundred  and 
sixty-four  days  of  the  year,  but  one  day  in  the  year  riot  shall  have  full 
sway;  one  day  in  the  year  the  administrative  police  force  of  this  nation 
shall  be  manacled.  It  is  said  every  dog  shall  have  its  day,  and  the  demo 
cratic  senators  have  made  up  their  minds  that  riot  shall  have  its  day,  and 
that  that  day  shall  be  the  election  day.  All  the  unruly  elements  of  society, 
all  desperadoes  and  scoundrels  have  notice  that  election  day  is  to  be  their 
carnival ;  and  the  national  power  shall  not  be  permitted  to  oppose  or  resist 
them.  Why  will  our  democratic  friends  insist  here  that,  on  that  one  day 
of  the  year,  no  military  force  shall  be  called  out  or  used  to  put  down  riot 
and  rebellion,  and  the  confusion  and  violence  that  may  exist  at  the  polls 
for  the  purpose  of  breaking  up  or  controlling  an  election?  Why,  with  all 
the  charity  that  a  Christian  can  have  for  a  Christian,  there  is  not  a  child 
ten  years  old  that  would  not  answer,  because  they  do  not  wish  to  have 
peaceable  elections.  There  can  be  no  other  answer. 


428  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

A  TEDIOUS  SESSION. 

The  second  session  of  the  forty-sixth  congress  began  on 
Monday,  December  i,  1879,  an(^  continued  until  June  16, 
1880.  It  was  long  and  very  tedious  to  Carpenter,  whos-: 
health  had,  in  spite  of  his  brave  effort  to  conceal  everything, 
begun  to  show  the  marks  of  decline.  He  was  usually  pres 
ent,  however,  and  watched  all  proceedings  with  his  old-time 
scrutiny. 

On  the  fourth  day  of  the  session  he  presented  this  reso 
lution  : 

WHEREAS,  The  resumption-  of  specie  payments,  the  circulation  of  gold, 
silver  and  greenbacks  as  lawful  money  of  the  United  States  under  existing 
laws,  and  the  reasonable  expectation  that  the  present  condition  of  the 
finances  of  the  country  will  not  be  disturbed  by  precipitate  legislation, 
have  been  followed  by  restoration  of  business  confidence,  revival  of  the 
industries  of  the  country,  and  the  inauguration  of  general  prosperity;  and, 

WHEREAS,  Stability  of  financial  policy  is  essential  to  the  successful  con 
duct  of  business  affairs;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  the  senate  any  legislation  during  the 
present  session  of  congress  materially  changing  the  existing  system  of 
finance  would  be  inexpedient. 

Although  the  resolution  was  not  formally  adopted,  it  was 
printed,  favorably  commented  upon  by  the  press  of  the 
country,  and  exerted  a  wholesome  influence  throughout  the 
session. 

THE   BROKEN,  TATTERED    CONSTITUTION. 

There  was  hardly  a  day  passed  in  which  Carpenter  did 
not  hold  up  before  the  senate  the  constitution,  and  call  the 
attention  of  the  members  to  the  fact  that,  notwithstanding  its 
broken  anfr  tattered  condition,  it  was  still  an  instrument  to  be 
respected  and  followed  in  the  business  of  framing  laws. 
When  Senator  Windom,  of  Minnesota,  moved  a  resolution 


THE   SUPPLY   OF   INDIAN   WARS.  429 

looking  to  the  establishment  of  a  department  of  agriculture 
and  commerce,  Carpenter  asked  if  there  was  any  lawyer  in 
the  senate  who  could  point  out  what  clause  of  the  constitu 
tion  afforded  power  to  establish  any  such  department.  He 
received,  of  course,  no  answer. 

When  it  was  proposed  to  organize  a  national  board  of  ed 
ucation,  he  inquired  what  clause  of  the  constitution  commit 
ted  the  educational  interests  of  the  country  to  the  keeping  of 
congress;  and  later,  desired  Senator  Kernan  to  inform  him 
where  the  authority  to  provide  for  an  international  exhibi 
tion  in  New  York,  resided.  Kernan  replied  that  he  did  not 
wish  to  argue  the  case,  whereupon  Carpenter  said: 

We  are  going  on  here  day  after  day  under  a  written  constitution,  violating 
its  provisions,  until  we  get  so  accustomed  to  it  that  no  man  wants  to  take 
the  trouble  of  explaining  the  necessity  or  propriety  of  it.  This  is  a  very 
small  matter,  but  still  it  is  in  violation  of  the  constitution,  it  is  debauching 
the  public  mind,  debauching  the  conscience  of  the  senate,  and  ought  not  to 
be  done. 

Senator  Hoar  asked  if  other  things  had  not  been  done 
without  the  permission  of  the  constitution.  Carpenter  re 
plied  : 

It  is  a  very  easy  thing  to  justify  any  action  that  congress  wants  to  take 
if  it  is  a  sufficient  justification  to  say  that  congress  has  done  such  a  thing. 
I  do  not  know  where  would  be  the  limit  of  our  power,  if  we  can  first  do  a 
thing,  and  then  next  day  justify  the  action  because  we  did  it  the  day  before. 

THE  SUPPLY  OF  INDIAN  WARS. 

One  of  the  peculiar  and  ingenious,  as  well  as  just,  meas 
ures  reported  by  Carpenter1  was  that  imposing  unusually 
heavy  fines  on  white  persons  who  should  steal  or  embezzle 
from  Indians.  The  senators  from  those  states  bordering  on 
or  containing  Indian  tribes  ofiered  every  conceivable  objec 
tion  to  its  passage,  for  the  reason,  Carpenter  intimated,  that 
it  would  cripple,  if  not  entirely  destroy,  one  of  their  principal 
industries.  The  bill,  he  said,  was  "  for  the  purpose  of  cutting 

1  Drawn  originally  by  Senator  Saunders. 


430  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

off  the  supply  of  Indian  wars."  Nearly  all  Indian  outbreaks, 
he  maintained,  were  provoked  by  white  men.  The  Indians 
had  laws  for  punishing  their  own  criminals,  but  they  could 
not  reach  the  principal  rascals,  who  were  white  men. 

A  very  interesting  debate  sprung  from  this  measure,  for 
the  reason  that  Ingalls  and  other  senators  raised  the  objection 
that  all  Indians  born  in  the  United  States  were,  under  the 
fourteenth  amendment,  citizens  thereof.  The  fallacy  of  this 
reasoning  was  quickly  illustrated  by  Carpenter.  The  United 
States  can  not  make  treaties  with  its  own  citizens,  but  it  can 
enter  into  treaty  agreements  with  "  other  nations  and  with 
the  Indian  tribes"  —  the  latter  being  quasi- nations;  there 
fore,  Indians  holding  and  living  under  tribal  relations  are  not 
citizens  of  the  United  States. 

When  a  bill  was  pending  authorizing  the  purchase  of  nine 
hundred  acres  of  land  in  Texas  for  Fort  Stockton  at  $18,000, 
Carpenter  was  the  first  senator  to  point  out  that  the  price 
was  outrageously  unjust,  as  but  a  short  time  before  the  land 
was  sold  by  the  government  for  $1.25  per  acre,  and  that  the 
scheme  to  purchase  it  back  at  $20  per  acre  was  evidently  a 
job. 

When  the  resolution  to  destroy  the  legal-tender  power  of 
greenbacks  came  up,  he  did  not  support  it.  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  record  that  the  measure  was  defeated. 

FITZ  JOHN  PORTER. 

The  great  speech  of  this  session  was  delivered  March  6th 
by  Carpenter  against  the  bill  for  the  relief  of  Fitz  John  Por 
ter.  Under  a  military  order  signed  November  27,  1862,  Gen 
eral  Porter  was  tried  for  insubordination  and  disobedience  by 
a  court-martial  consisting  of  Major- General  David  Hunter, 
Major-General  E.  A.  Hitchcock,  Brigadier -Generals  Rufus 
King,  B.  M.  Prentiss,  James  B.  Ricketts,  Silas  Casey,  James 
A.  Garfield  and  U.  B.  Buford,  and  Brevet  Brigadier-General 
W.  W.  Morris,  with  Colonel  J.  Holt  as  advocate-general. 
By  that  court  he  was  sentenced  "  to  be  cashiered  from  the 


FITZ  JOHN    PORTER.  43! 

army,  and  forever  disqualified  from  holding  any  office  of 
trust  or  profit  under  the  government  of  the  United  States." 
The  sentence  was  approved  by  President  Lincoln  January  19, 
1863.  The  measure,  against  the  passage  of  which  Carpenter 
put  his  strength,  provided  that  the  President  might  set  aside 
and  amend  these  findings  and  "  restore  Porter  to  all  the 
rights,  rank,  title  and  privileges  which  he  would  have  had  if 
there  had  been  no  court-martial." 

It  is  well  known  that  all  soldiers,  especially  the  graduates  of 
the  United  States  Military  Academy,  are  bound  together  for 
life  by  those  hardy  bonds  which  are  not  less  strong  and 
hardly  less  tender  than  family  ties.  They  are,  under  common 
circumstances,  brothers  everywhere,  and  defenders  always  of 
each  other.  The  fact,  therefore,  that  Carpenter  and  Porter 
were  students  together  at  West  Point  renders  doubly  inter 
esting  the  conspicuous  opposition  of  the  former  to  the  abso 
lution  and  restoration  of  the  latter,  and  shows  that  when  a 
great  principle  was  at  stake  Carpenter  could  not  be  swerved 
by  comrade-courtesy  or  the  ties  of  friendship  from  doing  fear 
lessly  and  energetically  what  he  believed  to  be  right. 

Against  the  passage  of  this  bill  he  contended  with  sturdy 
power  and  intense  earnestness.  He  showed  so  clearly  and 
conclusively  that  congress  was  utterly  powerless  to  interfere 
with,  set  aside  or  amend  the  sentences  of  regularly  organized 
courts,  that  no  one  attempted  to  answer  or  controvert  his 
propositions.  There  was  no  earthly  authority,  he  said,  save 
that  invested  in  the  President  to  grant  pardons,  that  could 
reach  in  a  regular  and  legal  way  the  case  of  Porter.  Con 
gress  could  no  more  set  aside  the  verdict  of  the  court  that 
cashiered  Porter  than  it  could  declare  that  verdict  insufficient, 
and  condemn  him  to  be  shot.  No  one  could  claim,  he  showed 
by  abundant  authority,  that  congress  had  power  to  say  Porter 
was  insufficiently  punished,  and  thereupon  sentence  him  to  be 
shot;  and,  conversely,  congress  was  absolutely  without  power 
to  say  the  sentence  was  unjust  or  too  heavy,  and  thereupon 
relieve  him  from  its  operation. 


432  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

He  entered  upon  an  exhaustive  exhibit  to  show  that  courts- 
martial  are  legal  and  regular,  and  as  completely  beyond  the 
baleful  interference  of  congress  as  any  other  courts  in  the 
land,  and  that  no  senator  could  vote  for  the  pending  bill  with 
out  violating  the  constitution  and  violating  his  oath  of  office. 

It  was  in  truth  a  mighty  speech,  the  force  of  mere  extracts 
from  which  is  weakened  and  destroyed  by  being  separated 
from  their  surrounding  supports  and  bulwarks.  As  a  legal 
argument  it  was  not  simply  incontrovertible,  it  was  absolutely 
unassailable.  As  an  assault  upon  the  enemy  it  was  irresisti 
ble,  victorious.  It  whelmed  the  advocates  of  the  bill  like  a 
flood,  swept  them  down  like  an  avalanche,  yet  he  indulged  in 
no  eloquence  until  the  close: 

Mr.  President,  I  have  no  feeling  against  Fitz  John  Porter  of  any  kind. 
I  was  with  him  a  year  at  the  academy  at  West  Point.  I  had  always  es 
teemed  him  until  this  affair  occurred.  In  all  his  former  history  in  the  army, 
no  man  ever  questioned  his  courage,  no  man  ever  questioned  his  devotion  to 
the  flag.  He  stood  high;  he  performed  his  du:y  well,  and  was  entitled  to 
praise  and  credit,  and  had  it  too  from  all  sources ;  he  was  brevetted  for  gal- 
lant  conduct,  but  as  the  senator  from  Illinois  well  said  yesterday,  those 
things  become  aggravations  01  his  offense  under  the  circumstances  of  this 
case. 

The  testimony  here,  which  I  have  examined  pretty  fully,  convinces  me, 
not  that  Porter  was  disloyal  to  the  Union,  not  that  Porter  meant  that  the 
south  should  succeed  in  breaking  up  the  government,  but  he  was  devoted 
to  McClell-in;  McClellan  was  the  idol  of  his  heart  and  the  star  of  his  hope. 
He  wanted  to  see  McClellan  succeed  first.  He  wanted  to  see  our  cause 
prosper,  but  he  wanted  McClellan  to  lead  us  to  victory.  He  was  the  man 
to  whom  he  was  attached,  the  man  on  whom  all  the  affections  of  his  heart 
seemed  to  be  centered;  and  it  was  bitter  as  death  to  him  when  McClellan 
was  supplanted  in  command  and  succeeded  by  a  man  for  whom  he  seems 
to  have  had  great  contempt.  That  was  the  fault  and  caused  the  fall  of  Fitz 
John  Porter,  who,  like  Lucifer,  fell,  never  to  rise  again. 

Why,  look  at  the  offense  of  which  he  has  been  convicted  —  and  I  think 
the  testimony  sustains  the  finding  of  the  court.  There  a  battle  was  raging, 
upon  which  the  fate  of  this  nation  might  be  depending.  Orders  were  is 
sued  to  him  again  and  again,  which  he  disregarded;  which  he  flatly  dis 
obeyed;  and  when,  finally,  in  obedience  to  the  positive  order  to  come  and 
report  on  the  battle-field  to  Pope  in  person,  he  did  come  up,  he  came  up, 
as  it  is  said,  without  one  of  his  brigades,  and  so  tardily  as  to  show  that  he 
had  no  wish  for  Pope's  success,  and  no  desire  to  obey  the  order.  Why, 


FITZ  JOHN   PORTER.  433. 

Mr.  President,  life  depended  on  his  obedience  —  the  life  of  an  army,  per 
haps  the  life  of  a  nation.  If  General  Porter  should  go  down  the  avenue 
to-day  and  kill  a  man  he  would  be  indicted,  tried,  sentenced  and  hanged  — 
life  for  life.  Upon  this  admeasurement  of  justice,  what  shall  be  done  with 
a  man  who,  by  his  criminal  conduct,  sacrificed  the  lives  of  twenty  thousand 
soldiers?  The  battles  rendered  necessary  in  consequence  of  his  neglect  of 
duty,  but  for  which  we  would  have  had  a  victory  on  the  first  day,  as  the 
senator  from  Illinois  stated  yesterday,  resulted  in  the  loss  of  about  twenty 
thousand  men.  Upon  this  principle  of  admeasurement,  if  Fitz  John  Por 
ter  had  twenty  thousand  lives,  they  were  all  forfeited  to  the  state. 

The  people  of  my  own  state,  I  know,  felt  it  keenly.  The  loss  fell  heavily 
upon  us.  What  was  called  the  "  Iron  Brigade  "  in  the  Army  of  the  Po 
tomac  was  made  up  of  three  Wisconsin  regiments  and  one  from  Indiana, 
I  think  the  Nineteenth  Indiana,  as  brave  a  body  of  men  as  ever  trod  a  bat 
tle-field;  a  body  of  men  who,  for  heroism,  for  endurance  in  the  privations 
of  war,  and  for  soldierly  bearing  and  conduct  everywhere,  would  not  suffer 
by  comparison  with  the  Old  Guard  of  Napoleon.  In  one  of  the  battles  of 
that  campaign,  this  brigade  lost,  in  killed  and  wounded,  one-third  of  its 
numbers.  This  was  before  Porter's  disobedience  of  orders;  but  as  the  cam 
paign  was  turne.1  from  a  success  to  a  defeat  by  Porter's  disobedience,  all 
their  lives  were  sacrificed  in  vain,  which  otherwise  would  have  been  a  part 
of  the  price  paid  for  the  success  of  the  campaign.  Every  train  of  cars  that 
penetrated  the  interior  states  for  months  afterward  came  freighted  with  tbe 
sacred  remains  of  our  slaughtered  soldiers.  They  were  piled  up  at  railway 
stations  like  merchandise.  They  sleep  now  in  the  graves  that  dot  every 
high  hill  and  every  green  valley  in  Wisconsin.  Our  people  will  not  soon  for 
get  Fitz  John  Porter.  They  will  never  forgive  him.  They  would  not  soon 
forget  me,  and  never  forgive  me,  if  I  should  stand  here  as  their  representa 
tive  and  vote  to  put  Porter  back  where  he  would  have  been  if  he  had  not 
committed  this  unspeakable  crime,  and  pay  him  all  that  he  would  have  had 
if  he  had  remained  in  the  service  and  served  his  country  faithfully. 

Queer  things  are  being  done  these  days.  This  thing  may  be  done  by  the 
senate.  It  will  not  be  done  by  my  vote.  Were  I  to  vote  for  this  bill  I 
should  fancy  that  the  tears  of  widows  and  orphans  were  moistening  the 
dust  at  my  feet;  I  should  imagine  that  the  disembodied  spirits,  the  frown 
ing  shades  of  twenty  thousand  soldiers,  slaughtered  in  vain,  were  muster 
ing  in  this  chamber  to  scourge  me  from  my  seat.  Nevertheless,  Mr. 
President,  God's  will  be  done.  It  may  be  that  even  this  last  travesty  upon 
justice  is  necessary.  They  tell  us  that  whom  the  gods  mean  to  destroy 
they  first  make  mad.  It  may  be,  although  it  seems  impossible,  that  the  dem 
ocrats  are  not  mad  enough  yet  to  insure  their  total  destruction.  This  last 
act  may  be  needed  to  convince  the  American  people  that,  to  insure  a  proper 
discrimination  between  virtue  and  vice,  to  fix  the.  proper,  ban. on  disloyalty 
28 


434  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

and  hold  rebellion  in  check,  we  need  in  the  White  House  once  more  the 
steady  hand,  the  cool  head  and  the  patriotic  heart  of  U.  S.  Grant.  1 

The  closing  of  his  speech  was  followed  by  such  an  ova 
tion  of  applause  as  had  rarely  been  heard  in  the  senate 
chamber.  The  principles  laid  down  in  it  have  since  been 
regarded  as  conclusive  against  the  right  of  congress  to  inter 
fere  with  the  regular  judgments  of  legally  constituted  courts. 

Carpenter  had  sat  two  days  out  in  listening  to  the  argu 
ments  on  the  case  and  expected  to  speak  after  Logan;  but 
too  ill  to  proceed,  he  asked  the  senate  to  adjourn.  That 
night  he  could  not  sleep,  and  early  on  the  following  morning 
sent  for  Dr.  Baxter.  When  the  physician  arrived  Car 
penter  inquired:  "  How  am  I?"  Baxter  shook  his  head. 
Carpenter  then  said  he  was  about  to  speak  at  length  in  the 
senate,  and  asked  for  a  strong  anodyne.  The  physician  re 
fused  to  prescribe  it,  but  told  Carpenter  he  must  not  speak. 
"  If  you  do,"  he  said,  "  I  shall  not  be  responsible  for  your 
life." 

The  reply  was  that  Porter's  insubordination  and  disobe 
dience  was  at  the  cost  of  hundreds  of  lives  as  dear  and  val 
uable  as  his  own,  and  he  should  go  ahead,  deeming  the  cause 
sacred  and  worthy  of  any  sacrifice.  With  Baxter's  gloomy 
warning  ringing  in  his  ears  he  sent  for  a  prescribed  nervine, 
swallowed  thirty  drops  of  it  and  started  for  the  senate  cham 
ber.  He  begged  the  escort  of  his  law  partner,  who,  waiting 
in  the  cloak-room  until  the  hour  for  the  speech  arrived,  again 
poured  thirty  drops  of  the  assuaging  draught.  Carpenter 
drank  it  and  began  his  memorable  address.  If  this  is  not 
the  bravery  of  martyrdom,  let  those  who  know  tell  us  what 
it  is. 

A  TILT  WITH  ELAINE. 

It  was  during  this  session  that  Carpenter  had  his  famous 
tilt  with  James  G.  Blaine.  A  controversy  had  arisen  between 

1  Just  three  years  from  this  time  General  Grant  completely  changed  his 
position  on  the  merits  of  Fitz  John  Porter's  case,  and  wrote  an  article  in  the 
North  American  Review  advocating  the  annulment  of  his  sentence. 


A   TILT    WITH    ELAINE.  43$ 

the  .temporary  presiding  officer,  Mr.  Rollins,  and  Blaine.  It 
had  progressed  for  some  minutes  when  Carpenter  jocosely 
remarked  that  he  was  unwilling  to  have  such  a  grave  ques 
tion  pass  into  history  without  his  name  being  connected  with 
it.  He  then,  from  his  experience  as  a  presiding  officer,  very 
clearly  explained  the  question  at  issue,  his  conclusion  being 
on  the  side  of  the  chair. 

Apparently  nettled,  Blaine  at  once  turned  his  attention 
from  the  real  controversy,  and  made  a  spirited  assault  upon 
Carpenter.  He  announced,  with  some  bravado,  that  he  had 
been  very  fortunate  in  not  entering  the  senate  while  Carpen 
ter  was  presiding  "  with  such  absolute  and  reckless  disregard 
of  the  common  and  ordinary  rules  of  politeness."  Carpenter 
did  not  notice  the  apparent  anger  of  Blaine,  but  replied  with 
his  usual  mellow  jocularity,  setting  the  senate  off  into  laugh 
ter.  He  then  went  over  the  ground  again,  to  convince 
Blaine,  if  possible,  that  the  ruling  of  the  temporary  presiding 
officer  was  in  strict  accordance  with  good  usage  and  settled 
principles,  and  that  the  discomfiture  of  the  senator  from 
Maine  was  wholly  unwarranted.  He  closed,  however,  with 
a  seasoning  of  sarcasm,  referring  in  pretty  plain  terms  to  the  i 
insolence  of  his  assailant.  Blaine's  argument,  as  appears  in 
the  Record^  was  principally  one  of  sharp  words,  while  Car 
penter  quoted  general  principles,  numerous  decisions,  and 
high  references.  By  these  means,  it  may  be  said  that,  if  he 
did  not  silence  Blaine,  he  compelled  him  to  desist. 

But,  unlike  Carpenter,  Blaine  remembered  the  rancor  of 
the  day,  and  two  weeks  later,  during  the  heated  discussion 
on  the  distribution  of  the  Geneva  award  on  the  Alabama 
claims,  carried  it  again  into  the  public  proceedings  of  the 
senate.  Again  the  Record  shows,  though  the  harshest  feat 
ures  of  the  wordy  melee  were  eliminated  before  publication, 
that  Blaine  was  not  wholly  without  fault. 

He  read  what  Carpenter  regarded  as  a  mysterious  doc 
trine  concerning  the  case,  in  support  of  his  position.  Car 
penter  inquired:  "What  does  the  senator  read  from?"  The 


436  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

reply  was  that  it  was  "  from  a  document."  Carpenter  put 
forth  the  query:  "A  document  from  the  departments?"  and 
Elaine  replied  that  he  was  not  compelled  to  tell  what  he  read 
from.  This  skirmish  brought  a  renewal  of  the  battle  with 
increased  fury.  Carpenter  charged  Elaine  with  having  pur 
posely  brought  it  on  originally  without  .cause,  exclaiming: 
"  My  experience  has  taught  me  never  to  encourage  and 
never  to  decline  a  row  —  never  to  make  a  personal  assault 
upon  any  one.  I  have  learned  that  when  one  is  made  upon 
me  to  repel  it  as  well  as  I  can.  When  a  man  treats  me  in 
solently,  I  reply  in  the  same  vein  as  near  as  I  can." 

The  affair  then  fell  into  a  rapid  whirl  of  savage  cut  and 
thrust,  in  which  finally  Carpenter  compared  Grant's  high 
praise  of  the  labors  of  the  American  members  of  the  Geneva 
arbitrators  with  the  leer  of  Elaine,  who  had  declared  that  they 
"hustled  up  through  the  bushes  into  the  mountains,  went 
into  a  cave,  chalked  on  a  barn  door,  split  the  difference,  and 
awarded  fifteen  and  one-half  millions."  Elaine  then  began 
to  parry  with  some  abstract  praise  of  Grant,  whereupon 
Carpenter  begged  him  to  desist,  else  he  would  surely  ruin 
the  great  general.  Just  how  the  matter  would  have  ended 
no  one  can  predict,  if  Thurman,  with  an  exceedingly  happy 
turn,  had  not  interposed  at  this  point  "  that,  as  the  two  sen 
ators  had  set  themselves  right  on  the  third-term  question,  the 
regular  order  should  proceed."  Thus,  the  intense  interest 
of  the  senate  in  the  contest  between  these  two  giant  debaters 
was  turned  instantaneously  into  laughter. 

It  may  now  be  properly  stated  that  at  that  moment  Elaine 
was  a  candidate  for  the  presidency  and  Carpenter  a  strong 
advocate  of  a  third  term  for  Grant.  These  things  being 
well  known,  and  the  ability  of  the  two  men  being  a  matter  of 
common  fame,  it  can  excite  no  wonder  to  record  that  the 
senate  chamber  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity  with  distin 
guished  people  anxious  to  witness  the  skirmish.  In  close  con 
nection  with  this  relation,  it  must  be  stated  that  there  was  no 
break  in  the  friendly  relations  that  had  always  existed  be- 


THE    GENEVA    AWARD.  437 

tween  Carpenter  and  Elaine  in  their  social  intercourse,  and  a 
few  days  later  the  two  joined  hands  in  a  tremendous  battle 
against  the  attempt  of  the  democrats  to  unseat  W.  P.  Kel 
logg  as  a  senator  from  Louisiana  in  a  manner  already  re 
corded.  That  man  must  indeed  be  great  who  is  above  petty 
hatreds  and  revenge. 

THE  GENEVA  AWARD. 

The  most  weighty  though  not  the  most  popular  speech  de 
livered  by  Carpenter  at  this  session  was  that  on  the  distribu 
tion  of  the  Geneva  award.  He  held  that  as  the  award  at 
Geneva  had  been  made  upon  the  array  of  individual  claims 
(set  forth  in  detail  under  oath)  laid  before  the  commission, 
the  aggregate  of  those  that  were  considered  valid  being 
equal  to  the  amount  decided  upon  as  due  from  Great  Britain 
to  the  United  States,  there  was  no  just  and  honorable  mode 
of  distribution  except  to  those  individuals  upon  whose  losses 
the  judgment  had  been  founded. 

Senator  Elaine  and  others  held  that  the  insurance  compa 
nies  whose  claims  were  allowed,  and  to  liquidate  which  a  sum 
of  money  was  set  aside  by  the  Geneva  arbitrators,  should  not 
receive  any  of  the  award  in  the  distribution  being  made  by  the 
United  States  government.  Carpenter  contended  to  the  con 
trary,  fortified  by  all  the  terms  of  the  so-called  Alabama  treaty 
under  which  the  award  was  made,  by  all  the  minutes  and 
proceedings  of  the  arbitrators,  and  by  all  the  official  circulars 
sent  out  by  our  own  government  in  making  up  a  case  against 
Great  Britain.  His  opponents  merely  contended  that  the 
award  was  a  national  one,  made  simply  in  the  abstract  for 
injury  to  the  federal  government,  and  that  the  cash  thus  ob 
tained  could  be  divided  by  congress  in  any  way  it  might  elect. 

This  theory  Carpenter  combated  by  something  more  than 
mere  argument  and  •  sound  logic.  He  showed  that  the 
claims  presented  in  the  name  of  the  United  States  as  a  na 
tion  amounted  to  $3,400,887,  while  those  of  individuals  ag 
gregated  $19,021,428.61.  Great  Britain  objected  to  the 


438  LIFE   OF    CARPENTER. 

so-called  "  indirect  claims  "  of  the  general  government  and 
they  were  all  abandoned,  so  that  the  award  was  finally  made 
"  solely  on  the  claims  for  individual  losses  as  made  to  the  ar 
bitrators  at  their  own  request."  Not  only  this,  but  one  of 
the  arbitrators  informed  Carpenter  and  Mr.  Pierce,  of  Massa 
chusetts,  that  the  award  was  made  on  the  claims  of  the 
underwriters,  and  Carpenter  declared  that  with  all  just  men 
the  irresistible  conclusion  must  be,  that  as  the  award  was 
made  upon  a  certain  list  of  claims  (including  those  of  the  in 
surance  companies)  the  distribution  could  only  be  equitable 
when  it  liquidated  the  losses  enumerated  therein. 

RED  TAPE. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  session  Carpenter  made  a  brief 
speech  against  the  obnoxious  system  of  red-tapeism  in  vogue 
in  the  departments,  that  might  stand  as  an  axiom,  for  it  is  as 
true  to-day  as  it  had  been  for  years  before  his  utterance.  He 
protested  against  it  on  the  ground  of  public  policy,  saying 
the  great  maxim  of  "  honesty  is  the  best  policy  "  applied  to 
nations  as  well  as  individuals: 

I  have  for  many  years  wondered  that  any  man  out  of  a  lunatic  asylum 
would  make  a  contract  with  the  United  States  upon  any  subject  whatever. 
He  certainly  subjects  himself,  his  fortunes,  all  he  has,  and  all  he  hopes  to  get 
in  this  world,  to  the  will  and  pleasure  of  congress,  or  to  the  arbitrary  will 
and  pleasure  or  the  hatred  and  malice  of  an  executive  officer  in  one  of 
these  departments. 

He  then  related  that  whenever  A.  T.  Stewart  "  sold  any 
article  for  the  White  House,  when  he  sold  to  the  United 
States  of  America,"  he  invariably  added  twenty  per  cent,  to 
the  usual  price  to  cover  the  expense,  trouble  and  delay  of 
passing  his  bill  through  the  interminable  red  tape  of  the  de 
partments. 

PURE  ELECTIONS. 

Shortly  before  adjournment  he  offered  an  iron-clad  bill 
of  some  length,  intended  to  preserve  the  purity  of  the  bal 
lot-box.  It  provided  that  any  person  convicted  of  intimida- 


PURE    ELECTIONS.  439 

tion,  bribery  or  bull-dozing;  of  offering,  depositing,  procuring 
or  counting  an  unlawful  ballot;  of  creating  or  participating 
in  any  election  riot  or  disturbance:  of  unlawful  registration  or 
any  other  offense  mentioned  in  the  act,  including  political  mur 
der,  should  receive  a  more  severe  punishment  than  had  ever 
before  been  provided.  He  fought  for  this  measure  section 
by  section  and  clause  by  clause,  but  the  democratic  majority 
made  it  impossible  for  him  to  pass  it. 

Among  the  special  matters  upon  which  Carpenter  set  his: 
heart  was  that  of  obtaining  an  increase  of  pension  for  Com 
modore  Wm.  B.  Whiting,  of  Milwaukee.  Whiting  had 
been  for  many  years  unable  to  leave  his  bed  except  by  the 
strength  of  others,  and  Carpenter  devoted  a  large  amount 
of  labor  to  overcoming  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  obtaining 
an  increase.  He  was  determined  to  make  the  old  naval  of 
ficer,  who  had  been  disabled  a  quarter  of  a  century,  comfor 
table,  and,  after  several  years  of  effort,  was  successful. 


440  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

CLOSING  LABORS. 

The  third  session  of  the  forty-sixth  congress  began  Decem 
ber  6,  1880,  but  Carpenter  was,  for  the  first  time,  not  in  his 
seat.  The  public  had  been  informed  that  he  was  in  poor 
health,  but,  although  he  did  not  appear  in  the  senate  until 
December  I3th,  he  was  so  buoyant  and  hopeful  that  it  was 
not  supposed  he  could  be  in  a  precarious  condition.  And  if 
any  such  idea  had  previously  been  entertained,  it  was  for  the 
time  entirely  dispelled,  when,  on  the  day  he  took  his  seat,  he 
renewed  his  opposition  to  the  bill  proposing  to  restore  to  the 
army  Fitz  John  Porter.  He  was  pale  and  thin,  but  his 
manner  was  vivacious,  his  eyes  bright  and  luminous  and  his 
mind  clearer  than  ever. 

On  January  7th,  when  the  consular  and  diplomatic  appro 
priation  bill  was  under  discussion,  he  objected  to  setting 
aside  $9,500  for  the  care  of  prisoners  and  $1,500- for  rent  of 
jails  in  which  to  confine  American  prisoners  in  China,  and 
offered  an  amendment  striking  out  those  sums. 

His  speech  on  the  subject  was  a  revelation  and  a  marvel  to 
jnost  of  the  lawyers  of  the  senate.  It  was  as  clear  and  con 
vincing  as  any  ever  heard  in  the  chamber,  and  contained  the 
last  of  his  long  series  of  appeals  to  maintain  the  constitution 
inviolate.  In  it  he  exposed  some  extraordinary  facts  relative 
to  the  irregular  administration  of  justice  by  American  con 
sular  and  diplomatic  agents,  not  generally  known,  and  cer 
tainly  not  generally  appreciated.  As  it  was  Carpenter's 
dying  speech,  that  is,  the  last  he  delivered  upon  earth,  the 
essential  parts  of  it,  which  are  exceedingly  interesting,  will  be 
herein  preserved: 

I  wish  some  senator  familiar  with  the  constitution  and  who  has  leisure, 
would  inform  this  body  what  right  we  have  to  try  a  man  in  China  without 
a  judge,  without  a  jury,  without  any  constitutional  jurisdiction  whatever. 


CLOSING    LABORS.  44! 

Men  are  being  tried  for  crimes  frequently  in  China,  Turkey  and  elsewhere; 
some  have  been  tried  for  murder  and  are  awaiting  execution,  as  I  am  told, 
and  I  would  like  to  know,  just  for  the  peace  of  my  own  conscience  as  a 
senator,  what  authority  we  have  to  vote  money  to  keep  them  in  jail  until 
somebody  can  hang  them  by  judicial  murder.  The  constitution  says  that 
no  man  shall  be  tried  for  crime  except  upon  the  presentment  of  a  grand 
jury.  They  are  in  prison  now  in  every  one  of  these  countries,  Japan, 
China,  and  Turkey,  and  I  assert  here  that  they  are  in  prison  there  in  viola 
tion  of  the  constitution  ot  the  United  States. 

Between  China,  for  instance,  and  the  United  States  a  treaty  removes  all 
cause  of  national  offense.  China,  if  it  chooses  to  let  us  do  it,  can  make  no 
complaint.  It  we  hang  our  own  people  and  half  of  hers,  it  might  be  a 
blessing  to  her  as  far  she  is  concerned;  but  when  you  come  to  our  power  to 
do  what  China  is  willing  we  should  do,  you  must  point  to  some  provision  in 
the  constitution  which  gives  us  the  right.  I  have  looked  thoroughly  for  it, 
and  I  can  not  find  it. 

I  am  opposed  to  this  whole  proceeding.  It  has  resulted  already  in  China 
and  in  Japan  in  such  proceedings  on  the  part  of  our  diplomatic  representa 
tives  there  as  are  simply  a  disgrace  to  this  nation  in  the  eyes  of  all  nations. 
A  diplomatic  representative  of  the  United  States  on  one  occasion  embez 
zled  from  the  United  States  a  large  sum  of  money;  he  invested  it  in  bonds 
and  mortgages  in  his  own  name.  He  sat  as  sole  judge  in  his  own  court  and 
foreclosed  the  mortgage  in  his  own  name.  He  ordered  the  property  to  be 
sold  by  the  marshal,  or  whatever  officer  carried  his  decrees  into  effect.  The 
sale  took  place ;  the  officer  appeared  at  the  sale  and  bought  in  the  property 
himself.  He  then  went  back  on  the  bench  and  confirmed  the  sale  to  him 
self.  Such  a  thing  would  have  made  such  a  noise  in  Great  Britain  that  the 
atmosphere  could  not  have  held  it;  but  we  have  become  so  indifferent  to 
constitutional  provisions,  so  careless  of  the  fundamental  and  essential  rights 
and  principles  of  freedom,  that  these  things  go  on  and  we  sit  here  and  vote 
appropriations  to  carry  them  on,  in  flat,  plain  violation  of  the  constitution, 
of  every  principle  of  Magna  Charta,  of  the  rights  of  all  men ;  and  it  ceases 
to  excite  the  least  surprise  or  attention. 

I  concede  that  if  an  American  citizen  commits  larceny  in  China,  for 
which  he  would  be  beheaded,  it  is  a  favor  to  that  citizen  to  rescue  him  from 
the  ax  and  send  him  to  jail  for  a  few  months.  But  it  is  said  that  this  power 
is  conferred  upon  the  United  States  by  the  treaty  with  the  foreign  nation. 
Learned  senators  will  see,  if  they  will  reflect  one  moment,  that  the  United 
States  can  receive  no  power  whatever  from  a  foreign  nation. 

To  test  this  for  a  moment,  suppose  we  should  make  a  treaty  with  Great 
Britain  by  which  we  should  provide  that  we  would  confer  titles  of  nobility 
upon  certain  persons  in  the  United  States.  I  ask,  and  that  brings  the  mat 
ter  to  a  proper  test,  does  that  treaty  we  have  made  with  England,  promising 
to  confer  a  title  of  nobility  upon  some  person,  give  congress  the  power  to  do 


442  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

what  the  constitution  says  shall  not  be  done?  In  other  words,  does  the 
treaty-making  power,  which  is  a  creature  of  the  constitution,  override  the 
constitution  itself,  and  enable  congress,  in  pursuance  of  a  treaty,  to  do  what 
is  expressly  forbidden  by  other  clauses  and  provisions  of  the  constitution 
itself? 

Therefore,  when  you  come  to  the  right  of  hanging  a  man  in  China  for 
murder,  or  when  you  come  down  to  sending  him  to  prison  two  weeks  for 
murder,  when  the  emperor  of  China  might  hang  him  or  behead  him,  al 
though  you  do  the  fellow  a  favor,  under  what  authority  do  you  do  it?  The 
senator  from  Massachusetts  says  under  authority  derived  from  the  emperor 
of  China.  I  deny  that  the  government  of  the  United  States  can  exercise 
any  authority  derived  from  anybody  or  anything  except  the  constitution  of 
the  United  States.  I  deny  that  the  monarch  \  of  Great  Britain  can  clothe 
us  with  powers  denied  to  us  by  the  constitution ;  I  deny  that  the  emperor 
of  China  can  do  any  such  thing;  and  although  it  be  to  exercise  power  upon 
our  citizens,  I  deny  that  our  government,  as  a  government,  can  do  it 

If  any  senator  will  read  the  statutes  conferring  judicial  powers  upon  con 
sulate  Officers,  I  am  certain  he  will  be  very  much  astonished.  It  is  a  dele 
gation,  not  only  of  all  the  powers  of  this  government,  but  of  the  powers  of 
all  governments.  This  consul  or  minister,  who  is  thus  clothed  with  judi 
cial  power,  is  authorized  to  administer  the  constitution  of  the  United  States, 
the  statutes  of  the  United  States,  and  exercise  all  jurisdiction  at  law  and  in 
equity,  and  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisprudence;  and  when  the  law  falls 
short,  then  the  common  law  of  England  and  all  of  its  provisions,  and  when 
that  fails,  the  statute  declares  in  express  words  that  he  may  pass  ordinances, 
which  shall  have  the  force  of  law;  and  they  apply  not  only  to  resident 
Americans  who  go  to  China  to  reside  and  carry  on  trade  or  business,  but 
they  apply  to  every  American  who  may,  by  chance,  or  accident,  or  the 
wild  winds  of  heaven,  be  driven  upon  that  shore  by  shipwreck.  If  the  sen 
ator  from  Georgia,  traveling  in  the  east,  should  be  sailing  by  one  of  these 
countries,  and,  by  adverse  winds,  be  blown  into  the  jurisdiction  of  one  of 
these  American  consuls,  he  may  find  himself  confronted  with  an  ordinance 
made  by  that  consul  declaring  some  conduct  of  his  a  crime,  which  in  the 
United  States  would  be  entirely  innocent,  be  arrested  and  tried  by  the  man 
who  made  the  ordinance,  without  a  jury,  and  be  sentenced  to  be  executed 
the  next  day  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning.  And  the  senator  is  about  to 
vote  an  appropriation  of  money  which,  at  some  future  day,  mav  be  used  to 
aid  in  his  own  arbitrary  execution,  if  adverse  winds  and  waves  should  waft 
him  into  that  jurisdiction. 

I  trust  no  such  misfortune  will  ever  overtake  the  senator  from  Georgia. 
But  if  it  should,  I  fear  there  are  persons  malicious  enough  to  smile  and  ex 
claim  that  it  was  a  visitation  of  poetic  justice  upon  a  senator  who  had  made 
it  possible  that  such  calamity  could  befall  any  citizen.  In  other  words,  he 
who  had  digged  a  pit  for  his  neighbor  had  fallen  into  it  himself. 


THE    DISGRACE   STILL   A   DISGRACE.  443 

That  such  a  statute  could  ever  have  passed  congress,  and  especially  that 
it  could  have  passed  when  Daniel  Webster  was  in  t'.ie  senate,  as  I  believe  it 
did,  is  matter  of  astonishment 

I  must  apologize  to  senators  who  have  charged  me  with  having  been  on 
the  judiciary  committee  for  several  years  without  having  brought  for 
ward  a  bill  for  the  repeal  of  these  statutes.  I  must  say,  and  I  say  truth 
fully,  that  until  within  two  years  I  had  no  more  idea  that  such  a  provision 
could  be  found  in  any  statutes  passed  by  congress  than  I  had  that  1  should 
be  hanged  myself  by  the  judgment  of  a  lamp-lighter. 

I  offered  the  amendment  more  for  the  purpose  of  calling  the  attention  of 
the  sena'.e  to  this  subject  than  for  any  other  purpose;  for  1  should  like  to 
know  how  many  senators  think  there  is  a  plausible  excuse  for  continuing 
an  unconstitutional  thing. 

It  is  said  here  by  some  senators  that  we  have  done  this  and  that,  even 
conceding  it  to  be  all  wrong;  yet,  inasmuch  as  we  have  been  doing  it  for 
some  years  now,  it  would  be  inconsistent  to  say  we  will  not  do  it  next  year; 
that  that  would  not  look  well  as  a  part  of  the  policy  of  a  great  nation. 
Well,  I  am  rather  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  when  we  become  fairly  sat 
isfied  that  we  have  been  doing  wrong  for  five  years,  it  is  manly  and  proper 
to  say  we  will  not  do  it  next  year,  nor  ever  thereafter. 

If  human  right  is  thought  to  be  of  any  consequence  in  this  congress,  we 
can  certainly  pass  a  bill  within  the  next  forty  days.  So  I  will  stand  by 
my  amendment,  and  see  who  is  in  favor  of  it  and  who  is  against  it. 

THE  DISGRACE  STILL  A  DISGRACE. 

So  Carpenter  adhered  to  his  motion  to  strike  out  the  ap 
propriation  for  the  maintenance  of  illegal  courts  and  jails  in 
China,  closing  his  adjuration  for  an  inviolate  constitution  and 
human  rights,  from  sheer  exhaustion,  in  his  seat.  His 
motion  to  strike  out  was  voted  down,  nearly  two  to  one,  and 
then,  weak  and  suffering,  he  at  once  set  about  framing  a  law 
for  the  establishment,  in  all  foreign  countries  in  which  the 
necessary  permission  could  be  secured,  of  a  system  of  regular 
and  constitutional  courts.  But,  as  though  the  Fates  had  set 
the  seal  of  perpetuity  on  the  disgraceful  judicial  system  of  the 
United  States  in  foreign  countries,  Carpenter  passed  from 
the  earth's  great  senate  a  few  days  later,  with  the  books, 
decisions  and  documents  he  had  gathered  for  correct  infor 
mation  as  to  his  proposed  law,  piled  around  his  dying  couch. 
In  fact,  after  he  was  forced  to  his  bed  for  the  last  time,  he 


444  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

caused  these  papers  and  volumes  to  be  put  within  reach 
upon  the  coverlets,  and,  bolstered  up  with  pillows,  proceeded, 
with  feeble  hand  but  with  undiminished  mental  strength  and 
enthusiasm,  to  correct  the  evils  pointed  out  in  the  foregoing 
extracts  from  his  last  speech.  But  death,  which  recognizes 
neither  constitutions  nor  the  outrages  of  consular  courts, 
found  the  task  incomplete ;  and  thus,  unfortunately,  it  remains 
to  this  day. 

On  the  I3th  of  January  Carpenter  appeared  for  a  short 
period  in  his  seat,  and  in  a  few  brief  sentences  called  atten 
tion  to  discrepancies  in  a  petty  appropriation  bill.  Likewise, 
on  the  following  day,  he  was  present  a  few  moments,  and 
spoke  for  probably  two  minutes  on  the  unconstitutionally  of 
a  bill  to  appropriate  money  for  an  "International  Sanitary 
Conference."  He  voted  with  ten  others  against  its  passage, 
and  then  voted,  on  Friday,  January  I4th,  for  an  adjourn 
ment  until  the  f6llowing  Monday. 

That  was  the  last  time  the  fascinating  music  of  the  voice 
of  Matt.  H.  Carpenter  was  ever  heard  in  the  chamber  of  the 
United  States  senate.  Thus,  it  may  be  said,  he  died  with 
the  name  of  the  constitution,  which  had  been  his  earthly 
deity,  upon  his  lips. 

Clay,  after  long  and  honorable  service,  was  permitted  to 
retire  from  the  senate  with  calm  farewells,  mingling  wisdom 
with  tenderness  and  advice  with  forgiveness ;  but  Carpenter, 
like  an  advancing  meteor  whose  growing  brightness  had  not 
yet  reached  its  full  burst  of  splendor,  suddenly  darkled  and 
fell  into  the  abysmal  chambers  of  eternity,  leaving  missions 
unended  and  adieus  unspoken. 


COMMITTEES   AND   COMMITTEE   SERVICE.  445 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

PRESIDENT  PRO  TEMPORE. 

The  laurels  Carpenter  won  as  an  orator,  debater  and  con 
stitutional  lawyer  on  the  floor  of  the  senate  were  hardly 
more  creditable  than  those  won  as  president  -pro  tempo-re  of 
that  body.  He  was  accorded  the  almost  unprecedented 
honor  of  being  chosen  during  his  first  term 1  to  preside,  and  at 
once  became  not  only  the  most  popular  but  one  of  the  most 
just  occupants  of  that  high  and  difficult  position. 

Schuyler  Colfax  has  said  Carpenter  was  the  best  presid 
ing  officer  he  ever  saw.  That,  as  far  as  opinions  have  been 
expressed,  was  the  general  verdict  of  his  republican  asso 
ciates  and  the  cordial  judgment  of  his  political  opponents. 
The  democrats  loved  to  have  him  in  the  chair.  He  made  no 
partisan  decisions  either  against  them  or  in  favor  of  the  re 
publicans. 

He  was  a  learned  lawyer,  a  quick  and  sound  reasoner,  not 
a  bitter  partisan,  a  lover  of  fair  play,  a  possessor  of  infinite 
good  humor,  an  expert  in  parliamentary  laws  and  usages, 
and  a  person  of  attractive  and  commanding  appearance. 
Such  qualities,  united  with  less  tact  and  clearness  than  Car 
penter  possessed,  would  have  made,  him  a  popular  presiding 
officer.  But  all  these,  united  with  never-ending  bonhomie, 
graceful  courtesy  and  a  healing  manner  of  determining  dis 
putes,  made  him  in  all  respects  the  model  president  of  the 
highest  deliberative  body  in  the  Western  Hemisphere. 

COMMITTEES  AND   COMMITTEE  SERVICE. 

If  the  secret  and  arduous  labors  of  the  committee-room, 
which  the  people  never  see  except  in  compact  and  digested 
results,  could  be  written,  then  would  appear  the  real  states- 

1  December  n,  1873,  on  motion  of  Senator  Anthony,  by  a  vote  of  two  to 
one  in  his  favor. 


446  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

manship,  the  full  learning,  the  varied  abilities  and  the  true 
service  of  Carpenter  in  the  senate.  During  the  four  ses 
sions  of  the  forty-first  congress  he  was  a  member  of  the 
committees  on  judiciary,  patents  and  revision  of  the  laws  of 
the  United  States,  and  gave  an  enormous  amount  of  labor  to 
each  of  them.  In  addition  to  serving  on  these  committees, 
he  was,  during  the  forty-second  congress,  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  enrolled  bills  and  a  member  of  the  important 
committee  on  privileges  and  elections.  In  the  forty-third 
congress  there  was  no  change  in  his  positions,  except  that  he 
was  made  chairman  of  the  committee  to  audit  and  control 
the  contingent  expenses  of  the  senate.  The  forty-sixth  con 
gress  was  controlled  by  the  democrats;  therefore  Carpenter 
had  no  chairmanships,  and,  at  his  own  request,  served  upon 
but  two  committees  —  those  on  judiciary  and  foreign  rela 
tions. 

Many,  in  fact  more  than  a  majority,  of  the  reports  on  im 
portant  subjects  presented  by  these  committees  during  his 
terms  were  drafted  by  Carpenter;  and,  in  addition,  by  com 
mon  consent,  the  duty  of  making  reports  for  most  of  the 
various  special  committees  on  which  he  served  also  devolved 
upon  him.  Some  of  these  constitute  most  interesting  and  val 
uable  contributions  to  state  literature  and  information;  but, 
unfortunately,  they  do  not  find  their  way  out  to  any  appre 
ciable  extent  for  the  enlightenment  of  the  public.  Fre 
quently  there  is  a  clash  between  the  house  of  representatives 
and  the  senate,  and  committees  are  appointed  to  settle  the 
differences.  Many  of  Carpenter's  reports  and  "views"  in 
such  matters,  especially  as  in  the  case  of  bills  for  changing 
the  tariff,  where  each  house  clings  to  certain  constructions  of 
the  constitution,  were,  and  will  always  remain,  of  great  value. 

Some  of  his  reports  have  been  drawn  from  in  their  natural 
order,  others  may  properly  be  referred  to  here.  The  proper 
relations  of  the  Pacific  railways  to  the  government  is  one  of 
moment  and  not  yet  fully  settled.  In  1871  he  was  on  a  com 
mittee  "  to  inquire  and  report  whether  the  railway  companies 


COMMITTEES    AND    COMMITTEE    SERVICE.  447 

which  have  received  aid  in  bonds  of  the  United  States  are 
lawfully  bound  to  re-imburse  the  United  States  for  interest 
paid  on  such  bonds  before  the  maturity  of  the  principal 
thereof,  and,  if  so,  what  legislation,  if  any,  is  necessary  to 
compel  such  re-imbursement;  and  by  resolution  of  February 
16,  1871,  were  instructed  to  inquire  and  report  as  to  the  right 
of  the  treasury  department  to  retain  all  the  compensation  tor 
services  rendered  for  the  United  States  by  the  Union  Pacific 
railroad  and  its  branches,  to  apply  on  the  interest  of  the 
bonds  issued  by  the  United  States  to  aid  in  the  construction 
of  roads."  After  an  exhaustive  argument  he  brought  in 

o  o 

a  report: 

1.  That  the  companies  are  not  lawfully  bound  to  re-imburse  the  govern 
ment  any    interest   paid    by    the   government   on    these   bonds    until    the 
maturity  of  the  principal  of  said  bonds,  except  that  one-half  of  the  com 
pensation  for  services  for  the  government  may  be  retained  by  the  govern 
ment,  and  five   per  cent,  of  the    net  proceeds  of  the  roads  must  also  be 
annually  applied  to  the  payment  of  said  bonds  and  interest  thereon ;  and 

2.  That  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  has  no  right  to  withho'd  from  the 
company  more  than  one-half  of  the  compensation  due  the  company  for 
services  performed  for  the  government. 

There  was  a  time,  after  the  adoption  of  the  fourteenth 
amendment,  that  certain  states,  in  order  to  increase  their 
population  and  representation  in  congress  and  national  con 
ventions,  desired  their  Indian  tribes  to  be  merged  into  the 
general  mass  of  citizens,  "  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
United  States."  On  this  subject,  in  1870,  Carpenter  made  a 
report  which  still  stands  as  settling  the  relations  between  the 
federal  government  and  the  Indian  tribes.  His  argument, 
though  compact,  is  of  greater  length  than  is  permissible 
here,  but  his  conclusion  was: 

That  the  Indian  tribes  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States  and  the 
individuals,  members  of  such  tribes,  while  they  adhere  to  and  form  a  part 
of  the  tribes  to  which  they  belong,  are  not,  within  the  meaning  of  the 
fourteenth  amendment,  "subject  to  the  jurisdiction  "  of  the  United  States; 
and,  therefore,  that  such  Indians  have  not  become  citizens  of  the  United 
States  by  virtue  of  that  amendment;  and  if  your  committee  are  correct  in 
this  conclusion,  it  follows  that  the  treaties  heretofore  made  between  the 
United  States  and  the  Indian  tribes  are  not  annulled  by  that  amendment. 


448  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

On  "  a  bill  to  further  protect  the  polls  in  the  election  of 
President,  Vice-President,  and  members  of  congress,  author 
izing  and  directing  the  secretary  of  the  interior  to  contract 
with  the  patentee  of  the  safety  ballot-box  for  the  use  of  polls 
throughout  the  United  States  in  the  election  of  President, 
Vice-President,  and  members  of  congress,  provided  that  said 
power  to  use  and  cost  thereof  shall  not  exceed  the  sum  of 
$15  a  box,"  in  June,  1874,  Carpenter  submitted  this  report: 

The  box  seems  to  be  ingenious  in  design,  simple  and  cheap  in  construc 
tion,  and  durable  in  material.  It  is  made  of  cast  iron  and  glass,  and  it  is 
claimed  that  with  it  ballot-box  stuffing  is  impossible  except  with  the  conniv 
ance  of  the  officers  of  election  and  the  candidates  on  both  sides. 

All  are  aware  of  the  deplorable  effects  of  frauds  at  the  polls,  as  seen 
especially  in  the  elections  in  cities  and  densely-populated  neighborhoods, 
and  of  the  dangers  that  menace  our  political  future  from  the  same  source. 
Repeating,  false  counts  and  ballot-box  stuffing  are  the  usual  forms  of  such 
frauds,  and  it  is  superfluous  to  dwell  upon  the  importance  of  any  device 
which  can  prevent  their  perpetration.  This  invention  promises  to  put  an 
end  to  ballot-box  stuffing. 

The  elections  of  electors  for  President  and  Vice-President  are,  however, 
held  under  the  control  of  state  officers,  in  obedience  to  state  laws,  and  con 
gress  has  no  jurisdiction  over  them.  The  elections  of  members  of  congress 
are  held  at  the  same  time  as  those  of  state  and  other  subordinate  officials, 
the  elections  of  all  of  whom  are  wholly  under  the  jurisdiction  ot  the  state?. 
The  committee,  therefore,  deem  it  inexpedient  to  go  further  than  to  express 
their  approbation  of  the  purpose  of  this  invention,  and  to  recommend  to  the 
states  the  adoption  of  this  or  some  similar  device  for  the  protection  of  the 
ballot-box 

OFFICIAL  LUXURIES. 

Perhaps  the  richest  report  ever  made  by  him  was  when, 
as  chairman  of  the  committee  to  audit  and  control  the  con 
tingent  expenses  of  the  senate,  he  disclosed  the  ancient 
secrets  and  practices  of  that  body.  He  went  mousing  back 
through  the  records  and  vouchers  to  the  first  dissipations  or 
luxuries  of  congress,  namely,  those  of  1777,  and,  tracing  them 
down  to  1874,  discovered  that  modern  wastages  or  extrava 
gances  were  far  below  those  of  earlier  years.  He  found  the 
period  of  greatest  profligacy  embraced  the  twenty  years  of 
democratic  reign  previous  to  the  Rebellion.  Until  the  repub 
licans  limited  each  member  to  $125  for  stationery,  postage 


OFFICIAL   LUXURIES.  449 

stamps,  etc.,  were  drawn  ad  lib.,  and  frequently  sold  for 
cash  or  huckstered  for  other  goods.  As  those  who  read  pay 
the  taxes,  three  paragraphs  from  Carpenter's  report  may  be 
extracted  to  show  in  what  directions,  in  other  years,  portions 
of  those  taxes  disappeared: 

The  attention  of  the  senate  was  invited,  on  the  I4th  of  June,  1857,  to  the 
unequal  amounts  of  stationery  furnished  to  senators,  and  the  secretary  of 
the  senate  was  directed  to  prepare  a  statement  of  what  was  supplied  during 
the  thirty-fourth  congress.  This  statement,  with  other  information  on  the 
subject,  was  laid  before  the  senate  on  the  9th  of  December,  1858,  and  showed 
a  great  inequality  in  the  amounts  of  stationery  drawn  by  senators  during 
the  preceding  congress.  The  five  senators  who  drew  the  largest  amounts 
were:  Hon.  C.  F.  James,  $368.68;  Hon.  Lewis  Cass,  $366.18;  Hon.  Jesse 
D.  Bright,  $302.66;  Hon.  W.  H.  Seward,  $284.78,  and  Hon.  George  W. 
Jones,  $254.9  j.  And  the  five  senators  who  drew  the  smallest  amounts 
were:  Hon.  Jacob  Collamer,  $62.99;  Hon-  J°»n  B.  Thompson,  $63.85; 
Hon.  John  M.  Clayton,  $64.07;  Hon.  Henry  Wilson,  $7359,  and  Hon.  D. 
S.  Reid,  $83.45.  The  average  amount  of  stationery  furnished  to  each  sen 
ator  during  the  thirty-fourth  congress  was  $123.82;  but  the  senate  refused 
to  adopt  that  or  any  other  sum  as  a  commutation  value,  and  the  conse 
quence  was  an  enlarged  gross  expenditure.  The  fancy  articles  sold  at 
stationers'  shops  were  purchased  by  senators  for  their  use  or  the  use  of 
members  of  their  families,  and  the  accounts  of  those  days  are  both  exor 
bitant  and  extravagant  when  compared  with  those  of  the  present  time. 

Large  sums  were  also  expended  for  the  funeral  expenses  of  deceased 
senators,  and  in  this  there  has  been  a  decided  reform.  In  June,  1850,  the 
funeral  expenses  of  a  deceased  senator  amounted  to  $2,760,  while  those  of 
a  senator  who  died  in  July,  1870,  were  $940. 

The  expenditures  for  stationery  during  the  year  1860  (the  last  year  of 
democratic  sway  in  the  senate)  were  nearly  if  not  quite  three  times  the 
amount  of  what  is  now  disbursed  for  that  purpose,  although  there  were  but 
sixty-six  senators.  There  was  no  commutation  for  stationery,  but  each 
senator  drew  what  he  thought  proper,  and  among  the  items  charged  we 
find  "  two  gold  pens  and  holders,"  "twenty- four  scarf-boxes,"  "one  set  in 
struments,"  "  six  dozen  pearl  and  silver  carved  pen-holders,"  "  eight  dozen 
fancy-cut  paper-weights,"  "  one  telescope,"  "  eight  dozen  small  agate  seals," 
"  six  dozen  cut-glass  inkstands,"  "  six  dozen  small  size  fancy-cut  ink 
stands,"  "  three  dozen  hexagon  cut  inkstands,"  "  four  dozen  bronze  paper 
weights,"  "  fourteen  dozen  Crooks'  four-blade  knives,  silver-tipped,"  "eight 
dozen  embossed  paper-boxes,"  "  eight  dozen  four-blade  buck-knives,"  "  two 
dozen  spring-top  inkstands,"  "  three  dozen  Draper's  inkstands,"  "  one 
dozen  screw-top  inkstands,"  "twelve  large  glass  inkstands>"  "  two  hun- 
29 


LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

dred  and  forty-one  reams  of  cap-paper,"  "one  hundred  and  sixty-four  reams 
of  letter-paper,"  "  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  reams  of  note-paper,"  and 
**  two  million  one  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand  five  hundred  envelopes." 

The  mass  of  Carpenter's  committee  work  is  so  great  that 
it  can  not  be  examined  in  detail  for  the  purposes  of  this  vol 
ume;  hence  a  halt  may  as  well  be  called  here.  All  his  col 
leagues  have  expressed  in  writing  or  public  speech  the  great 
services  he  rendered  to  them,  the  senate  and  the  country. 
A  dozen  words  from  Thomas  F.  Bayard  in  this  regard  will 
fairly  cover  them  all:  "  His  facile  dispatch  of  business  and 
his  prompt  and  correct  apprehension  of  all  questions  neces 
sarily  made  him  a  valuable  colleague." 


LOUISIANA — TUMULT    AND    BLOODSHED.  451 

CHAPTER  XL. 

LOUISIANA  — TUMULT  AND  BLOODSHED. 

In  its  salient  features,  perhaps  in  all  respects,  the  so-called 
Louisiana  case  was  of  co-equal  import  with  the  reconstruc 
tion  of  the  states  that  rebelled  and  left  the  Union.  In  both, 
the  new  and  unsettled  principles  to  be  determined  sprung 
from  the  very  life  of  the  republic,  and  were  a  part  of  the 
power  and  right  of  self-perpetuation  and  self-government. 
That  Carpenter  was  right  in  the  reconstruction  principles 
enunciated  was  declared  by  the  highest  authority  in  the 
land;  that  he  was  likewise  right  as  to  Louisiana  is  now  gen 
erally  conceded,  though  his  party  did  not  vote  or  side  solidly 
with  him.  Owing,  therefore,  to  its  importance,  the  subject 
is  treated  in  a  separate  chapter  outside  of  the  story  of  his 
doings  in  congress,  though  it  might  naturally  belong  in  that 
connection. 

At  the  election  of  November,  1872,  the  democratic  ticket, 
as  the  proper  officials  reported,  received  sixty-six  thousand 
and  the  republican  ticket  fifty-nine  thousand  votes.  Two 
canvassing-boards  were  at  once  organized,  in  this  manner: 
II.  C.  Warmoth  was  governor  and  by  law  the  head  of  the  can- 
vassing-board,  which  consisted,  in  activity,  of  the  lieutenant- 
governor,  secretary  of  state,  and  two  persons  named  Lynch 
and  Anderson.  Warmoth  discovered,  at  the  outset,  that  the 
board  could  not  be  fully  controlled  by  him;  so,  by  an  order 
which  was  wholly  unconstitutional,  removed  Herron,  the 
secretary  of  state,  and  appointed  in  his  place  one  Wharton. 
P.  B.  S.  Pinchback  (the  lieutenant-governor)  and  Anderson, 
having  been  candidates  at  the  election,  were  declared  to  be 
disqualified  to  act  as  members  of  the  board,  and  Du  Ponte 
and  Hatch  were  chosen  to  fill  the  vacancies  made  by  such 
disqualifications. 

Lynch  would  not  act  with  this  board,  but  acting  with 


452  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

Herron,  who  had  been  illegally  displaced,  elected  Longstreet 
and  Hawkins  to  fill  the  vacancies  made  by  the  disqualifica 
tion  of  Pinchback  and  Anderson,  and  then  proceeded  to 
canvass  the  returns,  or  such  duplicate  and  scattering  ballots 
as  they  could  secure,  for  the  Warmoth  board  possessed  all 
the  regular  returns.  By  the  votes  which  these  two  boards 
proposed  to  canvass,  one  Dibble  had  been  defeated  for  judge 
by  one  Elmore  by  something  like  nine  thousand  majority. 
Dibble  was  then  on  the  bench,  and  the  Warmoth  board 
began  suit  before  him  against  the  Lynch  board,  and  secured 
an  injunction  restraining  a  canvass  of  the  votes  by  its  mem 
bers.  One  day  later,  the  Lynch  board  secured  from  the 
same  judge  an  injunction  restraining  the  Warmoth  board 
from  acting. 

Four  days  afterward  Judge  Dibble  decided  the  suits  in 
favor  of  the  Lynch  board.  On  the  following  day,  we  must 
be  astonished  to  know,  Warmoth  took  from  his  safe  a  blank 
election  law,  passed  at  the  last  session  of  the  legislature,1  and 
approved  it  as  governor.  This  law  abolished  all  former  re- 
turning-boards,  and  under  the  constitution  of  Louisiana  gave 
him  power  to  appoint  a  new  one.  This  he  did  without  delay, 
creating  the  De  Feriet  board.  Warmoth  laid  the  returns 
before  this  board,  by  whom  a  canvass  was  made,  and  Mc- 
Enery,  the  democratic  candidate  for  governor,  and  certain 
persons  named  by  them  as  the  legislature,  were  declared 
elected.  In  the  meantime  Wm.  P.  Kellogg,  republican,  had 
been  declared  elected  governor  by  the  Lynch  board,  and 
various  persons  named  by  them  as  a  legislature  were  also 
declared  elected. 

Kellogg  filed  a  bill  in  equity  with  Judge  Durell,  of  the 
United  States  circuit  court,  and  there  obtained  an  injunction 

1  The  constitution  of  Louisiana  was  so  construed  that  the  governor  could 
approve  any  measure  passed  by  the  legislature  during  a  recess  of  that  body, 
or  veto  it  on  the  first  day  of  the  succeeding  session.  Thus  a  governor  con 
trolling  the  legislature  could  secure  the  passage  of  laws,  to  be  used  in  case 
of  an  emergency,  of  almost  any  conceivable  nature,  and  approve  them  when 
ever  that  emergency  arose.  Warmoth's  election  law  was  of  this  nature. 


ABSOLUTE    CHAOS.  453 

restraining  the  Warmoth  board  and  enjoining  McEnery  from 
acting  as  governor.  Notwithstanding  this  order,  Warmoth 
posted  a  bull  declaring  McEnery  elected,  and  commanding 
obedience  to  him  and  his  associates  as  the  state  government. 
Thereupon  Durell  issued  an  order  to  the  United  States  mar 
shal  of  the  eastern  district  of  Louisiana  to  seize  and  hold  the 
state-house,  known  as  Mechanics'  Institute,  and  prevent  "  all 
unlawful  assemblages"  therein  of  persons  declared  to  be 
elected  by  the  De  Feriet  or  Warmoth  board.  Upon  this 
order  a  company  of  federal  soldiers  seized  and  held  the  state- 
house,  President  Grant  having  ordered  the  troops  to  respond 
to  the  call  of  the  marshal. 

Kellogg  resigned  his  seat  in  the  United  States  senate  to  as 
sume  the  gubernatorial  chair.  The  two  pretending  legisla 
tures  met  during  the  second  week  in  December — the  one  in 
response  to  a  proclamation  by  Kellogg,  and  the  other  in  ac 
cordance  with  a  proclamation  by  McEnery.  The  former 
elected  Mr.  Ray  and  the  latter  Mr.  McMillen  to  fill  the  va 
cancy  in  the  senate  of  the  United  States  caused  by  Kellogg's 
resignation.  And  thus  the  case  of  the  two  contending  gov 
ernments  in  Louisiana  came  before  the  United  States  senate. 
The  Kellogg  government,  having  been  set  up  by  the  federal 
courts  and  recognized  by  President  Grant,  was  then  sup 
ported  by  federal  soldiers. 

ABSOLUTE  CHAOS. 

Louisiana,  with  these  two  contending  governments,  one 
supported  by  the  army  of  the  United  States,  was  in  a  state 
of  unqualified  chaos.  Business  was  demoralized,  the  people 
of  the  entire  commonwealth  were  in  rebellion,  and  civil  war 
was  threatened.  Carpenter  gallantly  defended  President 
Grant  from  the  attacks  of  the  democrats,  declaring  the  Pres 
ident  had  no  discretion,  when  telegraphed  that  the  order  of 
the  federal  court  was  being  disobeyed,  but  to  command  the 
troops  to  uphold  that  tribunal,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 


454  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

its  judge  (Durell)  in  setting  up  the  Kellogg  government 
had  far  over-stepped  his  jurisdiction.  The  Morton  faction, 
comprising  a  majority  of  the  republican  members  of  the 
senate,  insisted  that  the  Kellogg  government  should  be 
sustained  and  Mr.  Ray  admitted  to  the  seat  in  the  senate 
vacated  by  Kellogg. 

The  democrats  insisted  that,  the  returns  having  shown 
that  McEnery  received  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast,  he  should 
be  recognized  as  governor,  and  McMillen  be  admitted  to  Kel- 
logg's  vacant  seat.  Carpenter,  assuming  a  different  position, 
stepped  into  an  unoccupied  field  between  the  two  political 
parties,  and  demanded  a  new  election  for  Louisiana,  and 
presented  a  bill  providing  for  and  governing  that  election, 
which  was  pronounced  as  near  perfect  in  its  safeguards 
against  fraud  and  corruption  as  any  that  human  ingenuity 
could  invent.  His  reasons  were  that  Kellogg  held  his  office 
by  virtue  of  votes  never  cast  and  that  McEnery  went  in 
through  fraud  and  corruption;  meaning,  that  although  the 
returns  showed  a  majority  for  the  latter,  it  was  secured  by 
fraud,  manipulation  of  the  polling-places,  and  various  forms 
of  corruption,  and  that  a  fair  and  free  election  would  undoubt 
edly  have  resulted  in  favor  of  Kellogg. 

He  held  that  if  either  government  were  to  be  recognized 
it  must  be  that  headed  by  McEnery,  for  it  received  a  major 
ity  of  the  votes  actually  cast.  These  votes  were  canvassed 
by  a  board  of  undoubted  legal  power  —  that  of  De  Feriet, 
appointed  by  Warmoth  under  the  act  approved  by  him  No 
vember  20,  1872,  which  abolished  both  the  other  boards, - 
and  his  election  had  been  duly  proclaimed  by  the  legal 
governor.  He  also  held  that  the  Kellogg  government  could 
not,  in  equity,  be  recognized,  as  it  did  not  receive  a  majority 
of  the  votes  cast;  the  returns  were  never  in  the  hands  of  the 
Lynch  board,  which  declared  him  elected,  and,  finally,  there 
was  no  legal  Lynch  board,  it  having  been  abolished  by  the 
approval  of  the  new  election  law  before  mentioned. 


THE    WISER    REMEDY.  455 

THE  WISER  REMEDY. 

Having,  upon  the  representations  of  the  court,  recognized 
the  Kellogg  government,  President  Grant  declared  he 
should,  in  the  absence  of  any  act  of  congress,  continue  to 
uphold  it  to  the  end  of  the  term  with  federal  force,  if  neces 
sary.  Under  this  unprecedented  condition  of  affairs,  Car 
penter  urged,  with  all  his  power  of  logic  and  earnestness,  a 
new  election,  as  the  only  fair  means  of  settling  such  a  mael 
strom  of  contention,  fraud,  usurpation,  corruption  and  rebell 
ion.  In  closing  his  argument,  which  embraced  every  fact, 
decision,  act,  usurpation,  enactment  and  proceeding  in  the 
case,  he  said: 

I  am  satisfied  from  the  testimony  that  the  McEnery  government,  al 
though  in  fact  elected,  was  nevertheless  elected  by  such  gross  and  all-per 
vading  fraud  as  ought  to  vitiate  the  election.  It  is  in  evidence  that  the 
managers  of  the  election  threw  every  possible  difficulty  in  the  way  of  regis 
tration,  and  purposely  established  the  voting  places  at  inaccessible  points  in 
the  republican  districts,  so  that,  in  some  cases,  voters  had  to  travel  over 
twenty  miles  to  reach  the  polls,  and  that  this  was  systematically  done 
throughout  the  state,  for  the  purpose  of  preventing,  and  that  it  did  prevent, 
a  fair  expression  ot  public  sentiment  at  the  election  polls.  For  these  rea 
sons,  your  committee  have  not  felt  themselves  justified  in  recommending 
recognition  of  the  McEnery  government,  but  have  recommended  that  both 
the  Kellogg  and  McEnery  governments  should  be  discarded.  The  Mc 
Enery  government  is  the  creature  of  fraud,  and  the  Kellogg  government 
is  the  creature  of  fraud  and  usurpation.  Therefore,  to  recommend  a  new 
election  by  the  people,  it  seems  to  me,  is  the  most  harmless  course  we  can 
pursue  —  the  course  least  offensive  to  state  pride,  and  least  injurious  to  state 
rights. 

Mr.  President,  I  have  performed  my  duty  to  this  business,  and  will  have 
no  more  to  say  about  it.  I  sat  with  the  committee,  surrounded  by  an  as 
semblage  resembling  a  town-meeting,  for  four  weeks.  I  labored  night  and 
day.  I  have  investigated  this  matter  with  an  eye  single  to  find  out  the 
truth  and  to  put  on  record  a  lawyer-like  result.  I  have  done  the  best  I 
could,  and  I  wash  my  hands  of  the  whole  business.  If  you  choose,  upon 
any  technicality,  to  stand  back  and  leave  that  community  in  its  present 
condition,  if  you  please  to  leave  it  to  be  torn  up  by  these  contending  gov 
ernments,  and  to  realize  all  the  horror  and  bloodshed  that  may  follow  fronv 
your  silence,  the  responsibility  is  upon  you. 

There  is  in  that  state  a  large  colored  population  enfranchised  by  your 


456  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

act,  made  citizens  by  your  laws,  declared  by  your  constitution  and  statutes 
to  be  entitled  to  have  a  voice  in  electing  a  governor.  Here  is  the  notorious 
fact  that  they  have  not  had  that  right ;  that  their  will  has  been  overridden, 
and  that  the  McEnery  government,  which  appears  to  be  elected  by  the 
returns,  is  a  government  in  utter  defiance  of  the  public  sentiment.  Here 
are  the  further  facts,  too  notorious  and  too  apparent,  that  if  you  withdraw 
your  protection,  stand  back  and  leave  the  matter  to  settle  itself,  one  of  two 
things  must  follow:  bloodshed  in  that  state,  in  which  the  colored  popula 
tion  are  to  be  slaughtered  like  sheep  on  the  streets;  or  your  President  must 
do  as  he  says  in  his  message  —  he  must  stand  by  the  government  which  he 
has  recognized,  because  the  federal  courts  set  it  up,  and  by  our  party.  It  is, 
perhaps,  not  entirely  senatorial  to  distinguish  between  the  government  and 
the  party;  but,  Mr.  President,  the  fact  is  that  the  republican  party  is  an 
swerable  to  the  people  of  this  country  for  the  conduct  of  this  business,  and 
we  are  answerable  to  our  constituents,  to  our  consciences,  and  to  our  God, 
for  our  part  in  it. 

A  few  lawyers  of  the  senate  interposed  that  congress  had 
no  power  to  order  and  conduct  a  new  election,  as  Carpenter 
proposed.  He  replied  that  because  such  a  thing  never  had 
been  done  was  no  reason  why  it  could  not  be  accomplished, 
and  held  that  any  measure  or  proceeding  to  restore  Louisi 
ana  to  peace,  tranquillity  and  a  republican  form  of  government, 
as  the  constitution  requires,  was  within  the  clear  power,  as  it 
was  the  clear  duty,  of  congress.  He  believed  congress  was 
compelled  to  step  in  and  give  Louisiana  a  republican  form  of 
government,  because*  there  was  no  state  government  to  order 
a  new  election  —  no  power  left  within  the  state  to  right  things 
for  herself. 

A  VISIT  TO  LOUISIANA. 

He  was  in  earnest  in  this  all-important  matter.  He  believed 
the  great  political  wound  in  Louisiana  could  not  be  seared 
over  by  partisan  caustic,  but  must  be  treated  and  cured  by 
the  eternal  principles  of  right  and  justice.  Therefore,  in 
May,  eight  weeks  after  this  discussion,  he  proceeded  to  that 
State  for  the  purpose  of  learning,  by  personal  observation  and 
contact  with  the  people,  all  there  was  to  be  known  concern 
ing  the  rule  of  anarchy  within  its  borders,  and  whether  he 
was  pursuing  a  satisfactory  and  correct  course  in  his  official 


A   VISIT   TO   LOUISIANA.  457 

attempts  to  restore  peace  and  order.  While  there,  he  ad 
dressed,  somewhat  informally,  the  colored  citizens,  submitting 
to  a  long  cross-examination  by  the  leading  freedmen  of  the 
state. 

The  interview  was,  so  far  as  he  was  concerned,  full  of 
spice  and  spirit,  and  subsequently,  when  published,  attracted 
a  great  deal  of  attention,  by  reason  of  the  radical  if  not  start 
ling  theories  advanced  by  him.  The  colored  people  were 
dissatisfied  with  his  efforts  to  secure  a  new  election.  They 
trembled  with  terror  at  the  slightest  whisper  of  the  word 
election.  During  the  six  years  previous  over  five  thousand 
of  their  people  had  been  shot  like  dogs,  and  thousands  more 
had  been  scourged  with  lash  and  fire,  chased  by  bloodhounds 
into  the  swamps,  or  cut  off  from  earning  a  livelihood  by  the 
ku  klux  klans,  white  leaguers,  regulators  and  other  demo 
cratic  political  organizations,  because  they  voted  the  republi 
can  ticket.  With  these  scenes  of  suffering,  horror  and  blood 
still  fresh  before  their  eyes,  the  colored  men  pleaded  with 
Carpenter  in  the  name  of  heaven  to  send  them  no  more  elec 
tions,  but  to  send  an  abundance  of  federal  troops  to  uphold 
the  Kellogg  government,  which  Judge  Durell  had  pretended 
to  establish,  and  which  for  that  reason  President  Grant  had 
recognized  as  the  lawful  government  of  Louisiana. 

These  appeals  sorely  tried  Carpenter.  They  precipitated  a 
struggle  between  his  great  heart  and  his  well-settled  judg 
ment.  The  unspeakable  suffering  of  the  freedmen  had  fully 
captured  his  sympathies  —  his  heart  had  gone  over  to  the 
colored  men,  but  his  judgment  as  a  lawyer,  statesman  and 
senator  remained  wedded  to  the  theory  that  the  difficulty 
could  only  be  justly  settled  for  all  time  by  a  new  election  or 
dered  and  conducted  by  the  federal  government. 

The  colored  men,  however,  could  not  be  brought  to  his 
way  of  reasoning.  They  declared  that  under  the  fourteenth 
and  fifteenth  amendments  and  the  enforcement  act,  the  freed 
men  must  be  protected  in  their  rights,  and  that  troops  suffi 
cient  for  that  purpose  should  be  sent  to  Louisiana.  He 


458  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

explained  that  these  additions  to  the  constitution  and  the  en 
actments  in  pursuance  thereof  simply  gave  the  black  man  all 
the  rights  and  privileges  possessed  by  the  white  man,  and 
provided  civil  remedies  and  penalties  for  any  deprivation  of 
them.  Those  laws,  he  said,  did  not  make  the  black  man  the 
particular  ward  of  the  government,  did  not  place  him  in  a 
favored  position,  where  he  was  entitled  to  first  consideration, 
did  not  give  him  more  rights,  claims  or  privileges  than  the 
white  man,  but  simply  made  whites  and  blacks  equal  before 
all  the  laws  and  all  the  courts,  equal  to  defend  themselves 
against  the  assaults  of  each  other. 

He  declared  the  black  men  must  come  out  from  under  the 
destroying  reign  of  terror  that  was  holding  them  down, 
throw  off  the  whelming  awe  of  the  white  man  that  rested 

O 

like  an  incubus  on  all  their  efforts  and  desires  to  advance,  and, 
under  the  great  law  of  self-defense,  that  is  above  all  consti 
tutions  and  decrees,  meet  the  white  man  sword  for  sword  and 
blood  for  blood. 

THE  MOSAIC  LAW. 

This  may  fall  as  a  startling  doctrine  upon  those  who  never 
saw  the  black  man's  humble  home  in  ashes,. his  mule  shot  or 
maimed  and  his  little  crop  laid  waste,  or  never  passed  through 
the  southern  glades  at  election  time  to  find  here  and  there, 
riddled  with  bullets,  the  corpses  of  freedmen  who  would  not 
vote  as  the  white  man  had  ordered.  In  this  connection  noth 
ing  less  can  be  done  than  to  append  a  portion  of  the  cross- 
examination  of  Carpenter  heretofore  mentioned,  according  to 
the  report  of  a  stenographer  present,  as  follows: 

Mr.  Ingraham — There  have  been  over  five  thousand  men  murdered  in 
this  state  since  1865,  for  no  other  cause  on  God's  green  earth  but  their 
attachment  to  the  republican  party.  They  have  been  hunted  through  field 
and  flood  and  shot  down  for  no  other  reason. 

Mr.  Carpenter  —  That  is  a  thing  which  no  government  can  entirely  pre 
vent.  A  government  can  pass  laws  and  declare  it  shall  not  be  done, 
and  punish  the  men  who  do  it  when  they  are  convicted,  but  self-protection 
is  an  individual  right.  If  a  man  took  after  me  because  I  was  a  republican 
I  should  carry  a  revolver,  and  the  first  man  that  took  after  me  should  get 


ADDRESSING   THE   DISCORDANT   ELEMENTS.  459 

the  first  bullet  The  government  could  not  protect  me.  I  should  dravr 
a  revolver  upon  him.  Why  should  not  you? 

Mr.  Tucker  —  If  we  did  it  would  be  called  "a  war  of  races." 

Mr.  Carpenter  —  I  am  inciting  no  war  of  races.  Whether  the  man  who 
came  after  me  was  a  white  man  or  a  colored  man  I  should  shoot  him,  and  I 
advise  you  to  do  the  same. 

In  the  course  of  further  discussion,  Mr.  Carpenter  again  urging  a  new 
election  as  the  best  thing  for  the  republican  party  and  for  the  state  at  large,  Mr. 
Ingraham  replied  that  a  new  election  would  bring  into  play  the  new  arm  of 
the  south.  Since  the  surrender  at  Appomattox  a  new  arm  had  sprung  up. 
The  sons  of  the  men  who  had  died  in  the  confederate  cause  were  to-day 
leagued  together  all  through  the  south,  and  especially  in  Louisiana,  to  ac 
complish  at  the  ballot-boxes  what  their  fathers  and  representatives  failed  to 
accomplish  in  the  battle-field,  and  that  was  to  overawe  and  crush  the 
Negroes  throughout  the  southern  states. 

Mr.  Carpenter  —  Suppose  the  colored  men  in  these  states  should  band 
together  to  put  down  the  white  men? 

Mr.  Ingraham  —  We  are  not  going  to  do  that. 

Mr.  Carpenter  —  Suppose  you  should?  Suppose  twenty  thousand  col 
ored  men  in  this  state  should  meet  in  convention  and  pass  a  resolution 
that  no  white  man  '  should  hold  an  office  or  vote.  What  would  the  white 
men  do?  What  you  have  to  do  is  to  knock  your  people  out  of  this  awe  of 
the  white  man. 

Mr.  Ingraham  —  How  ? 

Mr.  Carpenter  —  Stand  right  up  to  him,  and,  if  he  insults  you,  knock  him 
down. 

Mr.  Ingraham  —  But  knocks  of  that  kind  would  prejudice  the  whole 
people  against  us. 

Mr.  Carpenter — Don't  you  think  the  whole  power  of  the  government 
is  enough  to  sustain  you?  We  can  not  protect  your  individual  firesides. 
If  a  black  man  came  to  murder  your  babes  you  would  kill  him,  would  you 
not?  If  a  white  man  comes  for  the  same  purpose,  kill  him. 

Mr.  Ingraham  —  We  admit  the  truth  of  all  this,  and  it  ought  to  be  done, 
but  in  our  present  relations,  when  we  have  the  law  and  the  courts  for  pro 
tection,  we  do  not  rely  upon  ourselves. 

Mr.  Carpenter  —  That  is  just  the  idea  I  am  trying  to  get  at.  If  you  in 
sult  a  white  man,  he  kills  you.  If  a  white  man  insults  you,  you  run  to  the 
courts;  don't  you  do  that,  just  go  for  him. 

ADDRESSING  THE  DISCORDANT    ELEMENTS. 

A  few  days  after  the  talk  with  the  colored  people,  in 
which  he  signally  failed  to  destroy  their  fear  of  the  bloody 
consequences  of  another  election,  Carpenter  was  invited  by 


460  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

a  large  number  of  the  leading  white  citizens  of  New  Or 
leans,  irrespective  of  party,  to  deliver  an  address  in  Exposi 
tion  Hall  on  the  unfortunate  condition  of  Louisiana  affairs. 
He  made  a  prompt  favorable  reply,  and  although  the  night 
chosen  for  it,  May  20,  1873,  was  stormy,  he  was  greeted  by 
over  three  thousand  of  the  foremost  citizens  of  the  Crescent 
City.  He  spoke  from  eight  o'clock  until  after  eleven  in  the 
evening  and  had  the  closest  attention.  He  talked  with  great 
license,  literally  handling  everything  and  everybody  in  Loui 
siana  without  gloves.  The  opening,  however,  was  rich  and 
beautiful,  like  the  gorgeous  section  in  which  he  was  a  vis 
itor  —  the  very  incense  of  oratory  —  and  won  his  audience 
so  completely  as  to  block  any  effectual  rebellion  against  the 
sledge-hammer  blows  he  subsequently  dealt. 

The  address  contained  the  main  points  brought  out  in  his 
speech  in  the  senate,  \vith  popular  illustrations  and  con 
clusions.  He  was  more  brief  in  setting  forth  the  rightful 
power  of  the  government  to  act  in  the  premises,  its  duty  to 
take  cognizance  of  the  failure  of  any  state  to  maintain  a  re 
publican  form  of  government  as  required  by  the  constitution, 
and  the  conclusion  that  federal  interference  could  be  no  vio 
lation  or  infringement  of  state  rights.  He  reiterated  that 
although  McEnery  was  technically  elected,  it  was  by  means 
of  the  grossest  frauds,  and  that  Kellogg  secured  his  seat  by 
frauds  of  another  kind  and  usurpation. 

The  foundation  question  to  be  reached  and  determined,  he 
said,  was  the  true  reason  for  this  condition  of  things.  He 
believed  it  was  because  slavery  was  not  dead,  saying  he 
found,  to  his  sorrow,  that  the  assertion  and  supremacy  of  the 
white  race  over  the  black,  which  constituted  slavery,  had 
not  disappeared;  that  the  latter  plainly  succumbed  to  that 
"  servility  of  temper  and  dread  of  the  white  man's  wrath 
which  slavery  had  imposed,"  and  that  they  "  did  not  seem  to 
understand  they  are  the  white  man's  equal  in  anything,  and 
yet,  to-day,  they  have  all  the  rights  and  all  the  protection 
which  I  have  in  Wisconsin,  and  all  they  ever  can  have  under 


ADDRESSING   THE    DISCORDANT   ELEMENTS.  461 

free  institutions."  He  then  expounded  the  doctrine  of  self- 
defense,  reiterating  and  amplifying  what  he  had  said  to  the 
colored  men  under  this  head  —  in  effect,  that  when  the  freed- 
men  were  attacked  they  should  shoot  and  kill  in  self-defense, 
if  nothing  less  would  suffice: 

There  is  no  war  of  races,  of  which  I  hear  so  much,  in  this  suggestion.  It 
is  the  innocent  man  defending  himself  against  a  wrong-doer.  *  *  * 
And  let  me  say  to  you,  frankly,  this  evening,  gentlemen,  that  the  quicker 
this  great  fact  is  taken  into  consideration,  fullv  understood  and  universally 
acted  upon,  the  sooner  will  you  relieve  yourselves  of  the  condition  of 
things  now  existing  in  this  city.  Talk  to  me  about  a  war  of  races  in  the 
south  by  the  aggressions  of  the  colored  man !  You  might  have  convinced 
me  in  Wisconsin  of  that,  but  you  never  can  after  what  I  have  seen  of  the 
colored  men  themselves  in  Louisiana.  I  will  believe  that  such  a  danger  is 
to  be  apprehended  when,  and  not  until,  you  have  satisfied  me  that  the 
lambs  on  the  farms  in  Wisconsin  have  banded  together  to  devour  the 
wolves  in  the  forest. 

The  fearless  manner  in  which  Carpenter  enunciated  this 
produced  a  decided  sensation,  which  he  did  not  permit  to  sub 
side  before  arraigning,  in  merciless  terms,  the  whites  for  the 
death,  in  Grant  parish,  of  "  that  mountain  of  colored  men, 
slaughtered  while  they  were  escaping  from  a  burning  court 
house."  He  indicted  them  for  ostracizing  northern  men 
who  removed  to  the  south  for  the  purpose  of  engaging 
in  business;  for  refusing  to  sell  any  portion  of  the  great 
plantations  that  were  going  to  waste  to  the  colored  men; 
for  refusing  their  former  slaves  opportunities  of  earning 
a  livelihood,  thus  compelling  them  to  starve  or  steal;  for 
training  their  young  men  to  "drink  whisky  and  talk  politics 
by  day  and  butcher  Negroes  as  a  pastime  by  night ; "  for 
inciting  tumult  and  revolution  on  the  slightest  pretext,  and 
for  their  general  bad  treatment  of  the  black  men  since  the 
advent  of  the  privileges  and  rights  of  citizenship.  He 
counseled  submission  to  the  Kellogg  government  until  some 
action  settling  the  imbroglio  could  be  taken;  for,  being  a 
de  facto  government,  its  acts  were  valid.  He  promised, 
when  the  case  should  be  presented  at  the  next  session  of 


462  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

congress,  to  do  what  he  could  to  secure  a  new  election, 
unless  it  should  be  shown  that  Kellogg,  in  spite  of  all  frauds, 
was  really  elected. 

In  closing,  his  speech  Carpenter  offered  a  generous  tribute 
to  New  Orleans  and  pictured  her  future  in  glorious  colors. 
He  assumed  the  garb  of  a  prophet,  and  predicted  the  day 
was  coming  when  Cuba  and  the  West  India  islands  and 
Mexico  would  belong  to  the  United  States,  and  that  then 
New  Orleans  would  be  the  gate-way  commanding  the  com 
merce  across  the  gulf  to  those  countries.  His  prophecy  was 
closed  in  these  words: 

Mexico  and  Cuba,  San  Domingo  and  other  islands  of  the  sea  are  held 
by  men  who  are  only  occupying  until  we  come.  Yet  we  can  not  go  until 
you  put  your  house  in  order  and  give  us  the  word  that  you  are  ready  for 
an  advance.  The  last  hope  of  man  in  the  experiment  of  self-government 
is  with  us;  we  are  even  to-day,  with  all  the  difficulties  we  have  to  contend 
against,  holding  the  lamp  of  liberty  a  little  higher  and  shedding  its  light  a 
little  clearer  on  the  face  of  the  world  than  any  other  nation.  Yet  we  are 
in  our  infancy,  not  only  in  years,  but  in  opportunities  and  capacities. 

BACK  IN  THE  SENATE. 

Returning  from  New  Orleans  to  the  floor  of  the  senate, 
we  find  Carpenter,  on  January  30,  1874,  redeeming  the 
promise  made  in  Exposition  Hall  to  do  what  he  could  for 
Louisiana  by  opposing  Morton's  resolution  to  seat  P.  B.  S. 
Pinchback  as  a  senator  from  that  state.  Pinchback  had 
been  elected  by  the  so-called  Kellogg  legislature,  and  Car 
penter  objected  to  seating  him,  on  the  ground  that  at  the  time 
of  his  election  there  was  no  legal  legislature  in  that  state. 
He  grouped  in  their  strongest  positions  and  illuminated  with 
the  light  of  his  perfect  knowledge  of  the  Louisiana  case  and 
of  the  law,  all  the  orders,  decisions,  rulings,  proclamations, 
enactments  and  proceedings  had  in  and  in  connection  with 
the  elections  in  that  unfortunate  state,  and  then  drew  the 
conclusions  of  an  impartial  and  upright  judge  who  had  laid 
aside  all  partisan  feeling  and  all  desire  except  to  see  exact 
justice  prevail.  The  list  of  authorities  and  decisions  he  pre- 


BACK    IN    THE   SENATE.  463 

sented  was  so  overwhelmingly  in  favor  of  the  position  that 
there  was  no  legal  state  government  in  Louisiana,  that  no 
one  pretended  to  contend  against  them. 

In  this  long  speech,  fairly  ponderous  with  the  weight  of 
well-settled  principles  and  eminent  decisions,  Carpenter  was 
unusually  warm  and  earnest.  It  was  noticeable  to  all  that 
he  believed  he  was  engaged  upon  a  question  of  vital  im 
portance  to  the  republic,  and  that  his  words  came  from  the 
heart  and  his  conclusions  from  the  precious  mine  of  honest 
conviction.  On  the  following  day  he  prepared  and  intro 
duced  another  bill  providing  for  a  new  election  in  Louisiana. 
Before  speaking  to  that,  however,  he  addressed  the  senate 
twice  on  the  resolution  to  admit  Pinchback,  and  arrived  at 
his  great  speech  in  support  of  the  bill  on  March  4th.  The 
event  had  been  well  advertised,  and  the  senate  chamber  was 
filled  to  its  utmost  capacity  with  a  brilliant  and  distinguished 
audience.  No  better  superficial  description  of  the  effort  can 
be  given  than  this,  by  a  noted  author,  journalist  and  pub 
licist,  of  New  York: 

For  three  hours,  through  one  of  the  best  legal  arguments  heard  in  the 
senate  for  a  long  time  past,  the  crowded  galleries  listened  to  him  eagerly, 
and  leaned  forward  with  deep  interest  to  catch  every  word  that  he  uttered. 
He  was  the  center  of  attraction  and  all  eyes  were  steadily  turned  upon  him. 
Most  of  the  senators  were  in  their  seats,  and  the  custom  of  reading  news 
papers  was  dispensed  with,  while  they  were  intently  absorbed  in  the  well- 
arranged  points  and  effective  treatment  of  them  which  characterized  Senator 
Carpenter's  forensic  effort  throughout.  At  times,  when  he  indulged  in  some 
highly  impassioned  bursts  of  oratory  delivered  impromptu  beyond  the  outline 
of  his  notes,  he  presented  in  his  naturally  graceful  manner  a  fine  embodi 
ment  of  the  bold  and  fearless  American  lawyer.  Then,  again,  there  were 
moments  when  the  silence  inspired  by  a  greediness  to  catch  his  every  word, 
was  painfully  impressive,  and  the  insinuating  electricity  of  his  voice  was 
almost  oppressive.  One  of  the  finest  lawyers  and  finest  minds  in  the  senate 
said  that  Senator  Carpenter's  argument  was  unanswerable.  The  awe  in 
spired  by  his  final  appeal  for  action,  and  his  protrayal  of  what  might  occur 
in  the  future  if  congress  did  not  interfere,  gave  to  his  peroration  the  master 
touches  of  art  which  invisibly  pervade  the  higher  productions  of  the  lim 
ner's  skill.  The  full  responsibility  of  the  senate  was  felt  when,  near  his 
close,  with  ominous  significance,  he  asked,  bursting  into  terrible  earnestness, 


464  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

"  Is  it  wisdom  to  adjourn  this  question  into  the  presidential  campaign  of 
1876?  "  adding  his  hope  that  the  government  would  stand  up  and  do  its  full 
duty.  The  full  measure  of  the  situation  was  then  reached,  and  Senator  Car 
penter's  effort  was  crowned  with  the  twofold  bays  of  a  statesman  and  a 
lawyer. 

It  should  be  stated  that  although  President  Grant  had 
recognized  the  Kellogg  government  and  was  upholding  it  by 
federal  bayonets,  his  own  wishes  were  represented  by  Car 
penter's  plan  for  a  new  election.  A  majority  of  his  cabinet, 
however,  were  against  him. 

Carpenter's  speech  was  a  powerful  exposition  of  the  deep 
and  damnable  iniquities  of  Louisiana  politics  —  one  long  and 
solid  array  of  facts  and  authorities,  butchery  and  blood.  Dur 
ing  its  delivery  he  was  badgered  and  cross-examined  by  all 
his  opponents,  including  Frelinghuysen,  West,  Logan  and 
Conkling,  and  answered  all  of  them  with  such  clearness, 
promptitude  and  completeness  as  to  show  his  perfect  mastery 
of  every  detail  of  the  complicated  subject,  and  to  turn  all  the 
interruptions  and  would-be  annoyances  to  the  advantage  of 
his  side  of  the  case. 

A  few  days  later  Carpenter  twice  addressed  the  senate  in 
favor  of  his  bill,  in  a  more  earnest  and  prophetic  manner,  if 
possible,  than  before.  He  referred  to  the  promise  he  made 
in  New  Orleans,  that,  if  the  people  would  cease  all  tumult 
and  violence,  and  submit  to  the  Kellogg  government  until 
the  next  session  of  congress,  he  would  do  what  he  could  to 
secure  a  new  election,  declaring  the  Louisianians  had  kept 
their  part  of  the  contract  perfectly,  and  he  should  keep  his, 
though  the  republican  senate,  for  mere  partisan  purposes, 
might  vote  to  perpetuate  a  fraud  and  usurpation.  He  closed 
this  second  conjuration  thus: 

THE  HAYES-TILDEN  DEAD-LOCK  PREDICTED. 

For  two  years  yet,  unless  congress  shall  interfere,  that  usurping  govern 
ment  will  hold  that  state.  This  question  will  be  mingled  with  the  difficult 
questions  which  may  be  involved  in  the  next  canvass  of  votes  for  President 
and  Vice- President.  I  will  not  take  more  time,  and  do  not  care  to  say 
another  word  upon  the  merits  of  the  subject;  but  it  does  seem  to  me  that  it 


BACK   IN   THE   SENATE.  465 

is  little  short  of  madness  on  the  part  of  congress  to  postpone  this  question 
and  mix  it  up  with  the  difficulties  which  may  arise  on  the  count  of  the 
votes  for  President.  We  can  settle  it  now  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  man 
kind,  settle  it  honestly;  have  an  election  there  that  every  man  will  know 
and  feel  is  an  honest  election,  and  then  the  matter  will  be  removed  from 
the  next  presidential  contest.  I  do  not  speak  of  the  political  contest,  but  I 
speak  of  the  canvass  of  the  votes  in  the  hall  of  representatives.  The  vote 
of  Louisiana  at  the  last  election  was  thrown  out  because  this  very  election 
from  which  Mr.  Kellogg  claims  to  have  derived  his  rights  was  void.  The 
casting  away  of  that  vote  did  not  change  the  result,  and  therefore  no  one 
cared  about  it ;  but,  if  the  result  had  depended  upon  counting  or  not  count 
ing  the  vote  of  Louisiana,  we  should  have  had  trouble  such  as  no  man  can 
estimate.  And  it  is  now  proposed  to  let  things  drift,  and  to  adjourn  the 
question  which  we  might  settle  now,  when  we  are  under  no  temptation  to 
do  anything  wrong;  to  adjourn  it  all,  and  see  what  will  turn  up  in  the  next 
count  of  votes  for  President. 

Carpenter's  bill  was  not  passed,  though  at  the  previous 
session  it  was  defeated  by  only  one  vote.  It  was  then  killed 
by  the  democrats,  who  disrelished  the  recitation  of  outrages 
and  horrors  in  the  preamble. 

The  prophecy  contained  in  the  passage  here  quoted  came 
to  pass  literally  and  with  dangerous  effect  at  the  succeeding 
presidential  election,  and  when  he  entered  the  supreme  court 
room  as  counsel  for  Tilden,  before  the  great  electoral  com 
mission,  made  necessary  by  the  very  trouble  in  Louisiana 
he  predicted  and  which  his  bill  proposed  to  correct,  the 
martyr,  James  A.  Garfield,  brought  forth  from  his  memo 
randum  book  the  extract  just  quoted,  remarking,  with  a 
tincture  of  remorse,  that  no  prediction  was  ever  more  com 
pletely  fulfilled,  or  human  prescience  ever  more  conspicu 
ously  demonstrated. 

Carpenter's  committee  report  on  Louisiana  affairs  is  one 
of  the  remarkable  documents  of  the  age.  It  does  not  in  any 
respect  fall  below  Burke's  impassioned  portrayal  of  the  East 
Indian  government's  excesses  and  debauchery  under  the 
extraordinary  vice-royalty  of  Warren  Hastings,  and  time 
has  fully  confirmed  the  wisdom  of  his  every  act  and  doctrine. 
30 


466  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

CHAPTER  XLI. 

FACING  THE  STORM— "BACK  PAY.' 

Probably  no  act  of  Carpenter's  public  life  was  performed 
with  a  clearer  conscience  than  that  of  supporting  the  so-called 
" back-pay"  bill  of  March  3,  1873,  yet  it  at  once  enveloped 
him  in  a  blinding  storm  of  denunciation  and  obloquy.  Always 
theretofore,  when  the  masses  had  called  upon  him,  Carpenter 
had  given  a  valid,  if  not  a  satisfactory,  reason  for  his  acts; 
therefore,  before  entering  final  judgment,  they  desired  to  hear 
what  he  had  to  say.  He  was  invited  to  speak  upon  the  "  back 
pay  steal,"  as  it  was  delicately  termed,  at  several  places,  but 
the  strongest  request  coming  from  Rock  county,  he  decided 
to  appear  at  Janesville  on  June  26,  1873.  Portions  of  his 
address  must  be  incorporated  in  order  to  show  an  account 
of  certain  of  his  public  doings  in  his  own  words: 

Before  coming  to  the  precise  point  I  intend  to  discuss,  let  me  refer  to  the 
abnormal  condition  of  things  existing  in  Washington  and  throughout  the 
country  last  winter,  which,  in  my  belief,  has  caused  the  uproar  which  fol 
lowed  what  is  so  courteously  styled  "  the  back-pay  steal."  I  refer  to  the 
Credit  Mobilier  investigation. 

If  any  one  had  gone,  in  1861,  to  meet  our  troops  as  they  were  flying  in 
rout  and  confusion  from  Bull  Run,  and  had  told  them  that  they  were  simply 
in  a  panic;  that  the  rebels  were  really  whipped;  that  no  enemy  was  pursu 
ing  them;  that  all  they  had  to  do  was  to  stop  running  themselves  to  death 
and  sit  down  on  the  grass  and  cook  their  supper,  it  is  likely  that  he  would 
have  been  run  over  and  trodden  under  foot  by  our  retreating  soldiery.  Yet 
every  one  now  knows  that  such  was  the  case,  and  that  our  army  was  fleeing  in 
hot  haste  from  adversaries  which  existed  only  in  their  own  excited  imagina 
tions.  A  very  sagacious  friend  of  mine,  an  editor,  has  told  me  that  the  same 
fate  will  overtake  me  if  I  attempt,  just  now,  to  stem  the  current.  He  says 
the  newspapers  have  taken  their  position,  and  if  I  should  succeed  in  showing 
that  they  are  wrong,  they  would  be  a  hundred  times  more  angry  than  they 
now  are,  and  that  any  attempt  to  justify  what  the  press  has  so  unanimously 
Condemned  will  only  have  the  effect  to  call  forth  increased  denuncia 
tion.  This  may  all  be  so,  but  I  do  not  believe  it.  There  is  a  time  for  all 
things;  a  time  to  rant  and  a  time  to  reason.  Of  ranting  we  have  had  more 
.than  enough;  some  one  must  incur  the  danger  of  attempting  to  reason,  and 
I  may  as  well  suffer  as  another. 


467 

Panic  results  from  the  infirmities  of  human  nature.  It  is  the  sudden  re 
bellion  of  fear  against  the  authority  of  reason.  In  a  panic  men  will  slay 
their  best  friends,  destroy  themselves,  and  from  the  best  of  motives  commit 
the  most  shocking  crimes.  In  a  panic  Athens  condemned  Socrates  to  death 
by  hemlock,  and  Jerusalem  led  the  Savior  of  the  world  to  the  agonies  of 
crucifixion.  Panics  are  not  confined  to  military  operations;  civil  commu 
nities  often  have  their  Bull  Runs. 

One  notable  illustration  was  the  panic  which  seized  the  people  of  Lon 
don,  and  of  all  England,  in  regard  to  the  supposed  Popish  plot.  Taking 
advantage  of  the  excitement,  an  infamous  wretch  by  the  name  of  Titus 
Gates,  thinking  he  could  see  meat  and  drink,  coats  and  pantaloons  in  it,  of 
which  he  was  very  short,  emerged  from  obscurity  and  pretended  to  make 
revelations  against  innocent  men,  upon  which  they  were  indicted,  tried, 
convicted,  drawn  and  quartered.  Oates  was  lionized,  received  public  ova 
tions,  and  was  regarded  as  a  great  benefactor  and  patriot.  But  after  the 
excitement  began  to  cool,  and  men  began  to  reason,  the  plot  was  found  out 
to  be  a  wicked  invention;  Oates  was  ascertained  to  be  an  impostor,  and  was 
convicted  of  perjury  and  whipped  at  the  cart's  tail  through  the  streets  of 
London  by  a  judgment  of  the  same  court  which,  upon  his  perjured  testi 
mony,  had  condemned  scores  of  innocent  men  to  the  gallows  and  the 
grave. 

The  panic  of  last  winter  was  less  tragic,  but  not  less  remarkable.  The 
devil  is  styled  the  Prince  of  the  Air;  he  has  been  a  long  while  observing 
things;  has  seen  generations  come  and  go,  empires  rise  and  fall,  and  must 
understand  human  nature  pretty  well.  If  there  be  any  truth  in  the  conceit 
of  Coleridge,  that  the  devil  sometimes  comes  down, 

"To  visit  his  snug  little  farm,  the  earth, 
And  see  how  his  stock  goes  on," 

I  know  of  nothing  more  likely  to  excite  his  mirth  than  the  Credit  Mobilier 
investigation.  And  the  gravity  of  even  his  Satanic  Majesty  must  have  been 
overcome  completely  when  the  drama  had  become  so  cast,  and  the  charac 
ters  so  completely  jumbled  and  transposed,  that  Fernando  Wood  —  affect 
ing  a  virtue  if  he  had  it  not  — stood  forth  as  the  impeacher  of  Schuvler 
Colfax,  a  man  the  latchet  of  whose  shoes,  upon  any  general  average  of 
public  virtues,  Fernando  Wood  is  not  worthy,  stooping  down,  to  unloose. 

He  then  showed  that  the  government  had  not  been  and 
could  not  be  defrauded  by  the  Credit  Mobilier,  as  it  was 
simply  the  corporation  which  contracted  to  build  the  Pacific 
road  for  the  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  and  thus  illustrated 
the  matter: 

Suppose  you  contract  with  a  builder  to  build  or  cause  to  be  built  a  cer 
tain  house  on  a  certain  lot,  according  to  stipulated  specifications,  within 


468  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER 

six  months,  for  which  you  agree  to  give  him  forty  acres  of  land  and  loan 
him  $10,000  on  his  note  for  ten  years.  Then  suppose  your  contractor  sub 
lets  the  contract,  and  the  sub-contractor  builds  the  house  to  your  entire 
satisfaction ;  you  accept  it,  deed  the  forty  acres,  and  loan  to  your  contractor 
the  $10,000  on  his  note  for  ten  years.  Then  suppose  it  should  come  to 
your  knowledge  that  your  contractor  had  been  cheated  by  his  sub-con 
tractor.  Would  you  consider  that  that  was  any  business  of  yours?  Would 
any  lawyer  tell  you  that  you  could  bring  a  suit  to  redress  the  wrong  which 
your  contractor  had  suffered  at  the  hands  of  his  contractor,  but  which  had 
in  no  way  affected  you? 

Carpenter  now  came  to  the  back-pay  question: 

I  stand  here  to-night  advocating  the  rights  of  the  poor  against  the  ambi 
tion  of  the  rich;  I  am  here  to-night  to  maintain  that  the  son  of  a  poor 
farmer  or  mechanic,  if  he  have  the  necessary  qualifications,  has  as  much 
right  to  sit  in  the  senate  of  the  United  States  as  the  son  or  grandson  of 
John  Jacob  Astor.  This  right  is  secured  to  the  sons  of  the  poor  by  the 
compensation  clause  of  the  constitution.  And  I  am  here  to-night  in  the 
interest  of  the  poor,  and  in  my  own  interest  as  a  poor  man,  to  denounce 
any  attempt  to  overthrow,  or  any  cowardice  wrhich  undermines,  the  Repub 
lican  dogma  of  our  government  —  that  every  public  servant  shall  receive 
the  compensation  for  his  services  which  is  fixed  by  the  law  of  the  land. 

In  America  the  theory  is  that  the  rich  and  the  poor  should  be  on  a  level 
in  making  as  well  as  administering  the  laws,  and  in  everv  respect  and  par 
ticular,  so  far  as  the  government  is  concerned.  And  the  fathers,  in  framing 
the  constitution,  took  good  care  to  secure  this  end  by  providing  as  follows: 
"The  senators  and  representatives  shall  receive  a  compensation  for  their 
services,jto  be  ascertained  by  law,  and  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  United 
States."  Mark  the  significant  and  emphatic  language  of  the  constitution. 
It  is  not  provided  that  the  congress  shall  have  power  to  fix  the  rate  of 
compensation,  nor  that  congress  may  by  law  determine  what  compensation 
the  senators  and  members  shall  be  entitled  to  receive,  but  the  language  is : 
"  The  senators  and  representatives  shall  receive  a  compensation  for  their 
services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law,  and  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  United 
States."  Suppose  a  conspiracy  be  entered  into  to-morrow  among  the 
millionaires  of  the  senate  —  William  Sprague,  of  Rhode  Island;  Zach. 
Chandler  and  Thos.  W.  Ferry,  of  Michigan;  Frederick  T.  Frelinghuysen, 
of  New  Jersey;  Wm.  T.  Hamilton,  of  Maryland;  John  P.  Jones,  of  Ne 
vada,  and  others  —  not  to  receive  any  compensation  for  their  services  and 
not  to  associate  with  or  recognize  as  gentlemen  those  who  should  receive 
any  such  compensation.  Can  there  be  a  doubt  that  such  an  aristocratic 
combination  to  change  the  character  of  the  senate,  and  force  poor  men  out 
of  its  seats,  would  be  a  direct  and  open  violation  of  the  constitution,  which 
expressly  provides  that  senators  "  shall  receive  "  the  compensation  which  is 


FACING    THE    STORM  —  "BACK   PAY."  469 

fixed  by  law?  Custom  is  as  strong  as  law,  and  social  influence  may  defy 
the  law.  The  tendency,  of  late,  has  been  to  fill  the  senate  with  men  of 
wealth.  And,  when  their  numbers  shall  be  increased,  a  combination  be 
tween  then],  like  that  supposed,  might  produce  a  practical  revolution  of  the 
government,  and  establish  a  condition  of  official  life  which  would  make  it 
so  uncomfortable  for  poor  men  to  hold  seats  in  the  senate  that  they  would 
decline  to  do  so,  and  give  the  senate  over  to  the  millionaires  of  the  country. 

In  my  opinion  there  is  but  one  question  in  all  this  business,  and  that  is 
whether  $7,500  be  more  than  a  just  compensation  for  the  services  of  a  sen 
ator  or  representative  in  congress.  I  shall,  therefore,  first  consider  this 
question.  It  is  said  that  $7,500  is  a  large  sum  of  money,  and  that  there  are 
a  great  many  laboring  men  who  do  not  see  one-half  that  sum  in  the  whole 
course  of  a  year.  All  this  is  true,  but  is  not  quite  conclusive  of  the  sub 
ject  before  us.  When  you  are  sick  and  desire  a  physician;  when  you  are 
involved  in  litigation  which  touches  your  fortune  or  your  liberty,  you  do 
not  advertise  for  the  physician  or  lawyer  who  will  serve  you  at  the  lowest 
compensation.  You  select  the  physician  or  the  lawyer  whose  services  you 
prefer,  and  expect  to  pay  him  what  his  services  are  worth.  So,  in  selecting 
a  senator  or  member  of  congress,  you  fix  upon  the  man  you  desire  to  fill 
that  place,  and  you  expect  to  pay  him  a  reasonable  compensation  for  his 
services.  If  you  desire  to  pay  only  such  compensation  as  will  secure  the 
services  of  a  man  without  regard  to  his  qualifications  for  the  place,  $5,'ooo, 
even  $2,000,  is  thrown  away  on  a  congressman.  Three  months'  advertising 
along  the  line  of  a  railroad  will  secure  men  enough  to  occupy  the  scats  of 
both  houses  of  congress  at  three  dollars  per  day.  Such  an  offer  made  to 
the  laborers  on  a  railroad  would  induce  them  to  "cut  dirt"  lor  Washington 
faster  than  they  ever  cut  dirt  out  of  a  railroad  bank.  When  you  employ 
a  lawyer  or  a  doctor,  a  bank  cashier,  the  president  of  an  insurance  com 
pany,  or  any  other  person  for  a  particular  purpose,  you  do  not  inquire  what 
is  the  smallest  sum  for  which  you  can  employ  a  man,  but  what  is  a  reason 
able  compensation  for  the  services  of  such  a  man  as  you  want  in  the  partic 
ular  place.  And  this  is  to  be  determined  by  ascertaining  what  the  same 
man  could  earn  if  employed  by  others  in  the  same  branch  of  business. 

In  1789  congress  fixed  the  salary  of  the  President  at  $25  ooo  per  annum. 
Probably  there  was  no  man  in  the  United  States,  at  that  time,  who  had  an 
income  exceeding  that  sum.  Things  have  greatly  changed  since  then,  and 
men  can  now  be  found  in  almost  every  county  whose  income  exceeds  that 
sum.  The  most  able  and  sagacious  of  our  business  men  —  the  men  who 
conduct  the  commerce  of  the  country  and  its  largest  business  operations  — 
would  regard  it  as  a  very  poor  year  which  did  not  yield  more  than  $25,000 
profit.  The  expenses  of  living,  too,  have  more  than  doubled  since  that 
time.  I  am  aware  that  it  is  always  replied  to  this  statement,  that  members 
of  congress  ought  to  live  very  economically,  that  they  ought  to  imitate  the 
puritan  simplicity  of  our  fathers,  and  live  as  cheaply  as  they  did.  But  how 


47O  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

many  of  you  practice  this  wisdom?  How  many  of  you  live  as  your  fathers 
lived?  Before  I  was  fourteen  years  of  age,  I  never  saw  a  carpet,  a  sofa,  or  a 
piano.  Now,  how  few  of  the  well-to-do  farmers'  houses  in  this  county  lack 
these  luxuries?  This  generation  spends  more  for  children's  toys  than  our 
fathers  spent  in  educating  us.  And  a  man  who  should  go  to  Washington 
and  live  as  some  editors  demand,  would  simply  be  the  laughing-stock  of 
the  nation.  If  you  desire  your  representatives  to  equal  the  representatives 
of  other  states  in  influence  and  power  at  Washington,  then  they  must  live 
with  respect  to  the  habits  and  customs  which  are  practiced  and  observed 
by  the  representatives  of  other  states;  and  not  to  pay  a  compensation  which 
will  enable  your  representative  to  live  like  a  gentleman,  is,  if  he  be  a  gen 
tleman,  to  exclude  him  from  public  service,  provided  he  be  also  a  poor 
man  A  rich  man,  as  I  have  said  before,  may  be  willing  to  serve  without 
any  compensation;  but  this  would  give  the  government  into  the  hands  of 
the  rich.l  And  it  is  for  the  people  to  determine  whether,  in  these  days  of 
consolidated  corporations  and  combining  capital,  they  desire  to  surrender 
all  voice  in  making  and  executing  the  laws;  if  so,  rich  men  undoubtedly 
can  be  found  who  will  serve  in  congress  without  regard  to  compensation. 
Then  we  shall  realize  the  old  theory  of  the  rich  taking  care  of  the  poor  — 
such  care  as  the  wolf  takes  of  the  lamb. 

Twelve  or  fifteen  years  ago,  Judge  T.  O.  Howe  and  Colonel  James  H. 
Howe  were  both  practicing  law  in  Green  Bay.  They  were  both  able  and 
upright  men  —  possessing  the  respect  and  confidence  of  the  community  in 
which  they  resided.  Judge  Howe  went  into  the  service  of  the  government 
as  a  senator  at  $3,000  per  year;  Colonel  Howe  went  into  the  service  of  a 
railroad  company  at  $4,000  per  year.  Judge  Howe's  salary  has  been  in 
creased  from  time  to  time,  until  he  now  receives  $7,500.  Colonel  Howe's 
salary  has  been  increased  from  time  to  time,  until  he  now  receives  $12,000. 
I  would  certainly  not  sav  anything  against  Colonel  Howe.  He  is  my 
friend^  and  a  gentleman  whom  I  greatly  respect,  and  whose  services  to  the 
corporation  which  employs  him  are  undoubtedly  worth  all  it  pays  him ; 
but  it  is  no  wrong  to  Colonel  Howe  to  say  that  Judge  Howe  is  his  equal  in 
every  respect  and  particular;  that  he  is  as  able  and  as  honest,  and  possesses 
in  as  great  a  degree  the  confidence  of  all  who  know  him.  Ten  thousand 
dollars  a  year  is  not  an  unusual  sum  to  be  paid  to  the  president  or  cashier 
of  our  largest  banks  and  railroad  companies ;  and  yet  a  senator  is  called 
upon  to  perform  three  times  the  labor,  and  determine  matters  involving 
fifty  times  the  importance,  at  a  compensation  of  $7,500. 

I  have  also  heard  it  said  that  there  were  members  of  congress  who  could 
not  earn  the  same  amount  of  money  in  any  other  employment.  Conceding 
this,  whose  fault  is  it?  If  the  people  of  a  state  choose  to  send  a  man  tocon- 

1  The  United  States  senate  is  now  practically  in  the  hands  of  the  rich. 
However,  this  is  objectionable  only  as  it  establishes  a  state  of  affairs  which 
makes  it  impossible  for  a  poor  man  to  become  a  senator. 


FACING   THE    STORM-    "BACK   PAY.  471 

gress  whose  best  services  are  worthless  to  himself  and  everybody  else,  that 
is  their  fault.  The  question  is,  what  is  a  fair  compensation  for  the  services 
of  a  man  who  is  fit  to  be  a  member  of  congress?  Does  anybody  doubt  that 
Alexander  Mitchell,  O.  H.  Waldo,  William  P.  Lynde,  Governor  C.  C. 
Washburn  or  any  other  man  in  our  state  who  would  be  likely  to  be  elected 
to  congress,  by  application  to  business  could  make  $7,500  in  a  year?  Or 
that  their  best  services  in  regard  to  matters  which  involve  millions  of  dol 
lars  would  be  fairly  worth  that  sum  per  year? 

There  is  an  impression  that  members  of  congress  are  making  large  sums 
of  money.  As  this  is  a  strictly  confidential  occasion,  and  I  am  here  in  the 
capacity  of  a  servant  to  answer  to  my  masters,  let  me  show  you  how  fast  I 
am  getting  rich  by  a  seat  in  the  senate.  Several  years  ago  I  rented  the* 
house  I  now  live  in  for  $1,000  a  year.  It  is  an  unpretending  but  comfort 
able  home.  My  office  rent  in  Milwaukee  is. $250  a  year.  I  am  compelled  t«> 
keep  my  house  and  office  in  Milwaukee  or  the  newspapers  would  at  once  say 
that  I  had  moved  out  of  the  state  and  gone  to  Washington  to  reside.  All 
I  have  in  this  world  is  invested  in  books.  I  have  five  thousand  volumes 
of  law  books  and  about  six  thousand  volumes  of  political  and  literary- 
works.  On  these  books  I  pay  an  annual  insurance  premium  of  about 
$1,000,  and  as  I  never  expect  to  have  anything  to  leave  for  my  family,  I 
keep  my  life  insured  for  their  benefit  to  the  amount  of  $50,000,  on  which  I 
pay  an  annual  premium  of  $1,400.  I  can  not  rent  a  decent  house  furnished 
in  Washington  short  of  $2,000,  and  I  am  compelled  to  keep  an  office  there, 
where  my  constituents  can  find  me,  and  where  I  can  transact  business  witr» 
them  away  from  the  sessions  of  the  senate.  For  this  office,  two  small1 
rooms,  I  pay  a  rental  of  $900.  These  items  give  $6,550  ot  indispensable* 
expense.  There  is  not  a  meal  ot  victuals  in  that  sum,  no  clothing  for  my 
family,  not  a  shirt  for  myself,  no  school-books  for  my  babies,  no  carriage 
hire,  no  doctor's  bills,  no  contribution  for  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  no 
charities  to  the  poor,  no  contribution  to  pay  the  expense  of  Wisconsin  office- 
seekers  who  have  failed  in  their  application  and  have  to  be  sent  home  at  the 
expense  of  the  delegation. 

A  year  ago  last  winter  I  went  to  Washington,  about  the  i5th  of  Novem 
ber,  and  remained  there  for  over  seven  months,  laboring  incessantly  night 
and  day,  Sundays  and  Mondays.  The  same  amount  of  labor,  care  and  re-- 
sponsibility  bestowed  upon  professional  business  in  my  office  at  Milwaukee- 
would  pay  $20,000;  I  received  $7,500  for  it.  But  you  may  ask  how  it  is,  if 
I  am  poor  and  my  necessary  expenses  exceed  my  salary,  I  am  able  to  stay 
in  congress  at  all ;  and  I  propose  to  tell  you,  because  I  am  making  a  full 
confession.  A  public  servant  is  not  permitted  to  have  any  privacy;  his 
meats  and  drinks,  his  clothing,  the  shape  of  his  shirt-collar,  the  style  of  his 
coat,  all  are  paraded  before  the  public  in  correspondence  and  ridiculed  in 
cartoons.  In  just  three  causes  in  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States 
last  year,  which  I  prepared  for  argument  during  the  summer,  at  home,  I  re 


472  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

ceived  $10,503,  in  cash.  My  clients  were  satisfied  with  my  services  and  my 
charges.  They  neither  called  me  a  thief  nor  abused  me  in  the  press.  This 
enabled  me  to  square  my  bank  account  for  the  year,  face  bakers  and  butch 
ers,  doctors  and  dentists,  school-masters  and  music  teachers,  priests  and 
printers,  tailors  and  shoe- makers. 

He  next  discussed  the  retroactive  or  back-pay  feature  of 
the  bill  increasing  salaries,  and  showed  that  it  was  common 
to  nearly  all  of  the  several  similar  bills  congress  had  en 
acted.  Also  that  many  of  the  great  men  who  voted  for  and 
accepted  back  pay  in  1856  and  in  1866,  either  voted  against 
the  law  of  1873,  or>  having  received  the  increase,  turned  and 
fled  before  the  howl  of  the  press  and  covered  it  into  the 
federal  treasury.  He  then  closed: 

4 

Why  is  it  that  men  who  voted  for  and  received  back  pay  in  1856  and  in 
1866  now  refuse  to  do  the  same  thing?  I  answer  that  the  Credit  Mobilier 
investigation  of  last  winter  so  diseased  the  public  mind,  and  produced  such 
a  morbid  public  morality,  that  things  which  are  perfectly  right  are  regarded 
as  wrong ;  and  these  men  lack  the  nerve  to  face  a  storm  even  in  defense  of 
a  principle  indorsed  by  Henry  Wilson  and  General  Farnsworth  and  others 
who  voted  for  back  pay  in  former  years,  and  received  it  from  the  treasury, 
and  who  are  now  claiming  popular  approbation  for  not  doing  precisely 
what  they  had  done  before.  If  it  is  a  larceny,  or  a  lesser  wrong,  to  receive 
back  pay  for  services  in  the  forty-second  congress,  which  these  men  admit 
by  refusing  it,  then  it  was  larceny  or  a  lesser  wrong  for  the  same  men  to 
receive  back  pay  in  1866. 

Washington  left  the  impress  of  his  character  upon  his  own  and  succeed 
ing  generations.  Jefferson,  Madison,  Hamilton  and  others  gave  an  impulse 
to  public  thought,  and  fixed  a  standard  of  public  virtue  under  which  -\\e 
have  grown  to  be  a  great  and  happy  people.  But  it  was  left  for  Oakes 
Ames  to  lift  the  standard  of  public  virtue  clear  out  of  mortal  reach  and 
out  of  human  sight.  Things  which,  viewed  in  the  light  of  our  Savior's 
teachings,  and  estimated  by  the  standard  of  Christian  morality,  are  as 
harmless  as  the  cooings  of  a  dove,  are  larcenies,  mortal  sins,  in  the  light 
of  1873  and  estimated  by  the  standard  of  alarm  and  fright  created  by 
Oakes  Ames  and  the  Credit  Mobilier  investigation.  Earthquakes  some 
times  come  and  storms  sometimes  rage;  but  the  earth  will  not  always 
rock,  nor  the  rains  always  fall,  and  we  may  hope  that  the  present  sore, 
fidgety,  sickly  morality  will  sometime  give  place  to  the  manly  and  healthy 
virtue  taught  by  the  Master  of  Nazareth. 

The  day  on  which  this  speech  was  delivered  was  ex 
tremely  sultry  and  enervating;  nevertheless  the  hall  in  which 


FACING    THE    STORM  —  "BACK   PAY.  473 

he  spoke  was  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity.  He  made  his 
appearance  dressed  in  spotless  white  coat  and  pantaloons, 
low  shoes  and  white  stockings  and  white  cravat,  but  without 
a  waistcoat  —  clad  in  perfect  accordance  with  the  demands 
of  comfort.  He  did  not  seem  to  be  more  clean,  cool  and 
fresh,  or  more  strong  and  confident,  than  he  was  picturesque 
and  attractive.  Every  statement,  proposition,  argument  and 
conclusion  was  closely  followed  and  thoroughly  digested  by 
the  large  audience,  and  when  he  had  done  there  was  hardly 
a  person  present  who  did  not  agree  with  him  as  to  prin 
ciples  and  facts,  and  few  who  did  not  rejoice  that  he  at  least 
had  received  the  benefit  of  the  increase  in  salary. 

This  effort  went  far  to  correct  the  distorted  ideas  instilled 
into  the  public  mind  by  the  newspapers,  and  fully  estab 
lished  Carpenter's  honesty  of  purpose  in  supporting  the 
measure  and  his  moral  bravery  in  defending  it,  while  others 
were  increasing  the  apparent  magnitude  of  their  self-con 
fessed  wickedness  and  self-conscious  guilt  by  fleeing  before 
the  storm  of  public  indignation. 


474  L1FE   OF   CARPENTER- 

CHAPTER  XLII. 

BAFFLED  CONSPIRATORS. 
.  i 

For  a  year  or  two  prior  to  1876  the  public  atmosphere 

was  contaminated  by  the  scandals  and  corruptions  of  what 
was  generally  known  as  the  "  whisky-ring."  The  popular 
mind  seemed  to  be  debauched  by  its  gigantic  excesses  and 
the  leading  men  of  the  nation  to  be  suffering  from  the  poison 
ous  malaria  it  distilled.  Unfortunately,  Carpenter's  second 
senatorial  campaign  came  on  during  this  epoch.  Although 
defeated,  the  odor  of  that  colossal  organization  was  so 
nauseous  to  the  community  that  his  enemies  could  do  no 
better  than  charge  that  he  had  some  connection  with  or 
profit  by  it.  The  announcement  was,  therefore,  made  that 
the  money  of  the  "  whisky-crooks  "  was  used  in  his  behalf 
during  the  campaign,  and  that,  in  return,  he  promised 
immunity  to  such  as  already  had  been  arrested  and  were 
awaiting  trial. 

The  facts  are,  in  brief,  these :  The  tax  on  whisky  was  two 
dollars,  the  cost  of  production  about  twenty-five  cents  per 
gallon.  The  temptation  to  evade  the  tax  was  too  much  for 
strong  lovers  of  money  to  withstand.  This  evasion  was 
possible  only  through  the  connivance  of  corrupt  revenue 
officials  —  such  as  gaugers,  store-keepers,  inspectors,  etc. 
These  men  would  not  permit  the  distillers  to  "  run  crooked," 
and  thereby  reap  enormous  harvests,  without  some  tangible 
recompense  for  themselves.  The  distillers,  therefore,  paid 
such  as  came  in  direct  contact  with  them  sums  varying  from 
$100  to  $250  per  month  per  distillery.  In  a  moral  point  of 
view,  the  corruption  was  not  so  much  in  the  distiller  as  in 
those  revenue  agents  who,  sworn  to  protect  the  govern 
ment,  were,  amidst  a  flood  of  perjury  and  malfeasance,  the 
abettors  of  a  vast  system  of  frauds  upon  it. 

Of   these  facts  the  departments  at  Washington  had  no 


BAFFLED    CONSPIRATORS.  475 

knowledge,  nor,  for  some  time,  had  the  general  public.  So 
far  as  Wisconsin  is  concerned,  the  chairman  of  the  republican 
state  central  committee,  E.  W.  Keyes,  discovered  during  the 
campaign  of  1873  ^na^  *ne  "  whisky-ring,"  under  the  name 
and  style  of  the  Personal  Liberty  League,  was  contributing 
liberal  sums  of  money  for  the  election  of  Taylor,  the  demo 
cratic  candidate  for  governor.  On  following  up  the  matter 
he  became  convinced  that  crooked  distilling  to  an  unlimited 
extent  must  be  going  on,  and  wrote  the  treasury  department 
to  that  effect.  In  the  winter  of  1873-4  ne  personally  com 
municated  his  belief  in  this  respect  to  officials  at  Washington, 
and  on  May  29,  1874,  *n  ms  capacity  as  chairman,  filed  spe 
cific  charges  with  Commissioner  Douglass,  inculpating  cer 
tain  revenue  officials  and  distilling  firms.  These  officials, 
upon  Carpenter's  recommendation,  were  removed,  and  subse 
quently  the  illicit  distillers  were  arrested. 

These  apparently  extraneous  facts  are  mentioned  for  the 
purpose  of  showing  that,  instead  of  being  in  league  with  the 
"whisky-ring,"  Carpenter's  friends  and  political  managers 
were  directing  the  attention  of  the  federal  authorities  to  its 
corruptions  and  frauds. 

While  Carpenter's  campaign  was  progressing,  in  the  win 
ter  of  1874-5,  a  certain  friendly  revenue  official  collected  a 
small  sum  of  money  for  hotel  and  other  necessary  expenses 
at  Madison.  Neither  Carpenter  nor  his  friends  knew  whence 
the  money  came,  but  afterward  the  charge  was  made  that  it 
was  contributed  by  "whisky-crooks."  A  few  weeks  later 
the  entire  nest  of  crooked  distillers  and  dishonest  officials  was 
arrested. 

The  house  of  representatives  was  then  controlled  by  the 
democrats.  Hoping  to  destroy  certain  leading  republicans 
and  smirch  the  party  generally,  an  investigation  was  ordered. 
On  June  3,  1876,  George  W.  Cate,  democratic  congressman 
from  Wisconsin,  moved  that  the  special  committee,  sitting  in 
recess  to  investigate  the  whisky  frauds  at  St.  Louis,  "  be  di 
rected  to  investigate  the  question  of  frauds  on  the  revenue 


476  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

at  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  and  whether  any  officers  of  the 
United  States  were  concerned  therein,  to  include  the  transac 
tions  and  contributions  of  the  *  whisky-ring,'  in  the  year  1873, 
in  influencing  elections." 

The  investigation  proceeded,  the  dishonest  officials  and 
crooked  distillers  being  called  to  Washington  for  the  purpose 
of  implicating  Carpenter,  E.  W.  Keyes  (postmaster  at  Mad 
ison)  and  Henry  C.  Payne  (postmaster  at  Milwaukee).  On 
the  second  day  of  the  investigation  Mr.  Caswell  asked  Leo 
pold  Wirth,  a  crooked  distiller,  whether  the  "  whisky-ring  " 
contributed  heavily,  in  the  year  18*73, to  tne  election  of  Taylor, 
the  democratic  candidate  for  governor,  and  Mr.  Gate,  the 
mover  of  the  resolution,  objected.  The  objection  was  sus 
tained,  and  his  other  objections,  all  of  which  were  sustained 
by  his  democratic  colleagues,  prevented  any  investigation 
whatever  into  the  political  corruptions  of  1873,  the  year  the 
resolution  demanded  should  be  looked  into. 

The  inquisition  then  proceeded  into  a  domain  not  covered 
by  the  resolution,  against  Carpenter,  Keyes  and  Payne,  who 
were  not  only  not  subpoenaed  or  notified  to  be  present  as 
witnesses  in  their  own  behalf,  but  were  compelled,  in  order 
to  have  a  hearing,  to  go  personally  to  Washington  and  de 
mand  it. 

The  besmirchers  were  put  on  the  stand  and  gave  the  tes 
timony  that  was  expected  of  and  in  many  instances  prepared 
for  them,  and  were  hustled  home  as  quickly  as  possible  so 
their  evidence  could  not  be  destroyed  by  cross-examination 
or  rebuttal.  As  the  wicked  and  indecent  farce  progressed, 
some  interesting  developments  were  made.  The  friendly 
revenue  officer  who  collected  a  sum  of  money,  as  already 
mentioned,  was  afterward  arrested,  but  to  avoid  trial  and 
punishment  escaped  into  the  Canadian  forests.  He  appeared 
as  a  witness  for  the  conspirators  at  the  investigation  in  Wash 
ington.  On  being  closely  pressed  he  admitted  that  the 
scheme  to  taint  Carpenter,  Keyes  and  Payne  was  concocted 
by  a  few  of  the  political  enemies  of  the  former  in  Milwau- 


BAFFLED   CONSPIRATORS.  477 

kee;  that  one  of  them  visited  him  in  Canada,  promising  im 
munity  if  he  would  return  and  give  testimony  implicating 
arid  besmirching  those  three;  that  in  order  to  secure  such 
immunity  he  agreed  to  so  testify,  at  least  against  Carpenter; 
that  the  immunity  was  then  delivered  to  him  in  Canada  in 
writing ;  that  he  returned  to  the  United  States,  and  that,  hav 
ing  put  himself  under  oath,  he  found  he  could  not  keep  his 
promise  —  could  not  deliver  the  inculpating  testimony  against 
Carpenter  that  he  had  promised  as  the  price  of  his  im 
munity. 

Thus  had  the  clever  official,  who  was  indeed  guilty, 
though  Carpenter  had  no  knowledge  of  it,  fooled,  outwitted 
and  baffled  the  conspirators.  He  then  went  on  to  testify  that 
Carpenter  and  his  friends  did  not  know  of  the  crooked  dis 
tilling,  did  not  receive  any  corruption  money  from  the 
"  crooks,"  were  not  acquainted  with  his  own  corrupt  trans 
actions  then  or  thereafter,  and,  so  far  as  he  knew,  had  no 
connection,  dishonorable  or  otherwise,  with  the  "  whisky- 
ring  "  or  with  any  of  its  members. 

When  this  investigation,  conceived  in  political  malice  and 
carried  forward  for  the  destruction  of  private  character, 
drew  to  an  end,  Carpenter  and  his  friends  returned  home, 
where  they  were  met  with  popular  ovations.  Carpenter  ar 
rived  in  Milwaukee  at  sunset,  and  on  being  driven  to  his 
residence  found  a  band  of  music  and  several  thousand  friends 
and  admirers  assembled  to  greet  him.  Judge  Levi  Hubbell, 
in  a  brief  address  on  behalf  of  the  people,  welcomed  him 
home.  Carpenter,  visibly  affected  by  his  emotions,  replied: 

FELLOW-CITIZENS,  NEIGHBORS  AND  FRIENDS: — The  highest  delight  of 
human  life  is  welcome  home  — 

"Home,  home;  sweet,  sweet  home; 
Be  it  ever  so  humble,  there  is  no  place  like  home." 

The  laborer  is  supported  amid  the  hours  of  work  by  the  expectation  of 
a  happy  reunion  at  the  evening  meal.  The  sailor,  toiling  upon  the  deep, 
the  soldier,  suffering  the  privations  and  meeting  the  dangers  of  war,  are 
sustained  by  the  thought  that  a  loving  wife  is  presiding  at  home,  and  prat 
tling  voices  will  greet  his  return.  The  great  heroes  of  Rome  carried  the 


LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

imperial  eagles  over  the  desert,  through  the  wilderness,  and  throughout  the 
world,  to  win  a  popular  reception  within  the  walls  of  Rome. 

I  thank  you,  gentlemen,  for  this  manifestation  of  your  regard,  and  I  ap 
preciate  it  all  the  more  that  it  is  in  no  way  connected  with  politics.  You 
do  not  come  to  greet  a  politician ;  you  come  to  meet  a  neighbor  and  friend. 

Your  speaker  has  alluded  to  certain  investigations  lately  had  in  Wash 
ington,  intended  to  show  that  I  had  some  connection  with  the  manufacture 
of  whisky,  and  to  the  fact  that  the  investigation  failed  to  fix  any  disgrace 
upon  me.  Friendship  and  prejudice,  love  and  hatred,  are  the  counterparts 
of  each  other.  If  a  man  has  warm  friends  he  will  have  bitter  enemies. 
This  demonstration  shows  that  I  have  friends,  and  I  accept  the  conse 
quence,  and  admit  I  have  enemies;  bitter,  malignant,  determined  ene 
mies.  They  kept  the  grand  jury  in  session  for  weeks,  fishing  for  some 
whelp  who  could  blacken  me,  but  they  did  not  find  him.  They  then  ap 
plied  to  the  house  of  representatives,  hoping  that,  because  the  house  was  of 
opposite  politics  to  that  professed  by  me,  they  could  accomplish  what  they 
had  failed  to  accomplish  by  a  grand  jury.l  Well,  the  investigation  came 
and  passed,  and  injured  no  one  but  those  who  set  it  on  foot. 

It  gave  an  opportunity  to  prove  the  utter  falsehood  of  the  charges  made, 
and  will  probably  satisfy  my  enemies  that  they  have  been  on  a  false  scent. 

Again,  gentlemen,  let  me  thank  you  for  your  call  this  evening.  In  you 
I  recognize,  not  those  who  stand  by  when  a  man  can  stand  by  himself, 
friends  to  share  his  prosperity  and  profit  by  his  advancement.  You  have 
been  my  friends  in  storm  and  disaster,  when  clouds  sank  low  and  waves 
dashed  high.  I  had  been  defeated  in  my  contest  for  re-election  to  the  sen 
ate,  my  character  was  assailed,  and  everything  malice  could  invent  had 
been  poured  out  against  me.  But  a  large  crowd  of  friends  awaited  me  at 
the  Milwaukee  depot  on  my  return  from  Madison,  under  the  impulse  of 
friendship  warm  enough  to  defy  the  atmosphere,  below  zero  —  the  train  an 
hour  and  a  half  behindhand;  the  wind  blowing  a  gale  —  to  soothe  my 
wounded  pride  and  show  that,  though  defeated,  I  was  not  deserted.  That 
was  as  delicate  a  compliment  as  was  ever  paid  to  a  man  on  earth.  Success 
is  always  greeted.  Everybody  is  a  friend  to  the  conqueror;  but  it  is  rare 
indeed  that  friends  stand  firmly  around  the  conquered  to  soften  the  mortifi- 

1  While  the  grand  jury  was  in  session  in  Milwaukee,  two  or  three  ugly 
republicans  conspired  to  have  Carpenter  indicted  for  receiving,  while  a  sen 
ator,  money  from  the  "  whisky-ring."  The  attempt,  of  course,  failed.  At  this 
time  he  wrote  to  his  wife,  from  Washington:  "  DEAR  GIRL: —  I  hope  you 
did  not  allow  yourself  to  be  disturbed  over  the  attempt  to  indict  me.  It 
would  have  hurt  my  enemies,  not  me,  if  an  indictment  had  been  found  and 
a  public  trial  had.  I  was  not  at  all  alarmed,  because  I knerv  there  was  not 
a  fact  or  thing  against  me.  I  did  not  be.ieve  anybody  would  commit  per 
jury  against  me,  and  I  knew,  if  they  did,  I  could  roll  the  matter  back  on 
them." 


BAF'FLED   CONSPIRATORS.  479 

cation  of  defeat.  Your  friendship  I  appreciate;  it  touches  every  spring  of 
gratitude  in  my  nature;  and  until  my  heart  ceases  to  beat  it  will  be  my  am 
bition  to  show  myself  worthy  as  possible  of  such  friends  and  such  friend 
ship. 

When  congress  met  in  the  following  winter,  the  report  of 
the  scavengers  showed  such  a  painful  lack  of  testimony  im 
plicating  any  except  indicted  revenue  officials  and  illicit  dis 
tillers,  that  the  matter  was  dropped  in  disgust — it  ought  to 
be  said,  in  shame.  Subsequently  Judge  Gate,  the  author  of 
the  resolution  to  investigate  Wisconsin,  admitted  that,  though 
he  had  been  led  into  the  investigation  sincerely  believing 
there  was  some  foundation  for  the  charges  against  Carpenter, 
he  had  become  fully  satisfied  there  was  none.  In  fact  his 
words  have  been  by  himself  committed  to  writing,  as  follows: 

STEVENS  POINT,  December  25,  1878. 
HON.  THOMAS  H.  McDiLL: 

Dear  Sir — In  reply  to  your  note  asking  for  my  opinion  as  to  the  result 
of  the  investigation  had  in  the  forty-fifth  congress,  relative  to  the  alleged 
whisky  frauds  in  Wisconsin,  as  affecting  the  Hon.  E.  W.  Keyes,  I  have  to 
say  that  the  resolution  under  which  the  investigation  was  had  was  intro 
duced  by  me,  and  the  evidence  was  introduced  mainly  under  my  direction, 
and  has  been  printed,  so  that  all  disposed  to  do  so  may  read  it  and  judge  for 
themselves.  But  answering  your  question  as  briefly  and  directly  as  possi 
ble,  the  evidence,  judged  from  a  practical  standpoint,  failed  to  implicate 
either  Mr.  Keyes  or  Mr.  Carpenter  in  such  frauds,  and  such  was  the  opinion 
of  all  the  members  of  the  committee  before  which  the  testimony  was  given. 
I  talked  with  all  or  nearly  all  the  members  in  regard  to  a  report,  and  the 
conclusion  was  that  the  charge,  so  far  as  those  gentlemen  were  concerned, 
was  wholly  unproven.  Very  respectfully, 

G.  W.  GATE. 

The  following  scrap  of  testimony  by  James  Coleman, 
corroborated  by  Hiram  S.  Town,  John  E.  Eldred,  Dana  C. 
Lamb  and  others,  shows  that  instead  of  being  corrupt  dur 
ing  his  second  campaign,  Carpenter  prevented  corruption: 

By  Mr.  Carpenter: 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  proposition  being  made  to  me  or  to  my  leading 
friends  there  at  that  time  for  furnishing  votes  of  members  of  the  legislature 
for  a  pecuniary  consideration? 

A.  Not  personally,  but  I  know  this:  that  if  it  had  been  necessary  at  any 


480  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

time  during  the  campaign  in  Madison  to  elect  you  by  the  use  of  money,  it 
could  have  been  done  with  very  littie  trouble. 

Q.  Did  you  hear  me  say  anything  to  my  friends  there  upon  the  subject? 

A.  I  was  present  on  one  or  two  occasions  in  your  room  when  this  propo 
sition  was  made  to  you  (the  necessary  number  of  votes  to  nominate  or 
elect  you  was,  I  think,  six);  the  proposition  was  made,  I  think,  on  one  or 
two  occasions,  that  for  the  sum  of  $3,000  as  a  maximum,  or  $2,000  (the 
minimum),  six  democratic  members  would  vote  for  you  and  secure  your 
election.  You  were  very  indignant  at  the  proposition,  and  gave  the  boys  a 
severe  lecture  for  talking  with  anybody  on  that  question  or  for  talking  with 
you  on  the  subject,  and  stated  to  them  on  two  occasions  that  if  you  knew 
that  if  your  election  were  secured  by  the  use  of  a  dollar,  you  would  not  take 
your  seat. 


MISCELLANEOUS   ADDRESSES.  481 

CHAPTER  XLIII. 

MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES. 

The  law  and  miscellaneous  speeches  of  Carpenter  were  so 
numerous  that  a  volume  might  be  consumed  in  cataloguing 
them.  A  few  not  already  mentioned  in  connection  with  the 
important  subjects  to  which  they  relate  will  be  referred  to 
now;  but  numbers  of  them  must  be  passed  over  without 
notice.  Some  of  them  were  incomparably  beautiful,  some 
prophetic,  some  ingenious  and  unique,  others  philosophical, 
and  many  tender;  but  those  of  the  war  period  swayed  pop 
ular  audiences  as  the  hurricane  billows  the  forest  or  the  sea. 

After  1861  he  was  in  demand  on  speech-making  occasions 
everywhere  —  at  fairs,  receptions,  banquets,  presentations, 
dedications,  memorial  services,  on  the  stump  and  at  Fourth 
of  July  celebrations.  Therefore,  from  1850  to  1881  he  must 
have  spoken  on  such  occasions,  in  court  and  on  the  floor  of 
the  senate,  at  least  two  thousand  times.  But,  unfortunately, 
no  man  who  has  spoken  so  much  or  so  well  has  left  so  little 
behind.  Hardly  a  dozen  occasions  are  known,  outside  of 
the  requirements  of  court  rules,  in  which  he  composed  ad 
dresses  before  their  delivery.  Hence,  not  one  of  those 
handed  down  by  reporters  is  at  all  comparable  with  the 
original  in  felicitous  expression,  intelligent  punctuation  or 
striking  metaphor. 

Thus  has  his  wit  been  shorn  of  its  sparkle,  his  diction  of 
its  mellifluousness,  his  satire  of  its  refinement,  his  rapier 
thrusts  of  their  vital  effect,  his  arguments  of  their  perfect 
lucidity  and  his  pathos  of  its  divine  tenderness.  Carpenter's 
speeches  lost  as  much  by  distillation  through  the  newspaper 
as  champagne  does  by  evaporation  under  the  noon-day  sun. 
Some  of  his  most  attractive  and  profound  addresses  have 
been  delivered  at  Fourth  of  July  celebrations.  On  such  oc 
casions  he  frequently  proceeded  learnedly  to  define  the  true 
31 


482  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

province  and  theory  of  government  or  of  citizenship,  and  to 
dwell  upon  the  future  greatness  of  the  American  republic 
with  earnest  and  prophetic  eloquence.  But  these,  like  the 
uproar  amidst  which  they  were  delivered,  were  borne  by  the 
winds  to  their  echoless  chambers,  beyond  the  reach  of 
human  record. 

SEVEN  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTY  HEROES. 

Undoubtedly  the  first  attempt  in  the  United  States  to  erect 
a  public  monument  to  the  memory  of  the  soldiers  who  fell 
in  the  Rebellion  took  form  in  Grant  county,  Wis.,  early  in 
1861.  But  as  the  war  was  prolonged,  the  soldier-dead  of 
the  patriotic  county  continued  to  increase,  until  almost  every 
family  in  it  had  a  sorrowful  interest  in  the  project,  and  it  was 
not  until  July  4,  1867,  that  the  splendid  tribute  to  those  who 
gave  up  their  lives  that  the  Union  might  not  perish,  was 
formally  dedicated.  The  shaft,  which  is  of  pure  white  mar 
ble,  contains  the  names  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  sacrifices 
upon  the  altar  of  liberty,  and  rears  its  eagle-crest  above  the 
surrounding  buildings  of  the  city  of  Lancaster. 

The  dedicatory  ceremonies  brought  out  the  largest  con 
gregation  ever  witnessed  in  the  southwestern  portion  of  the 
state  —  the  entire  people  of  a  populous  county  had  gathered 
at  the  grave  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  of  her  martyr  chil 
dren.  Carpenter  delivered  the  regular  oration.  He  pre 
pared  no  notes,  and  there  was  no  phonographic  reporter 
present;  but  it  was  so  marked  in  its  character  and  eloquence 
that  it  has  been  forgotten  by  no  one  in  Grant  county.  That 
and  the  dedication  of  the  monument  stand  out  as  memorable 
events,  still  referred  to  with  pride  and  pleasure. 

He  closely  imitated  Pericles  in  his  funeral  celebration  at 
the  close  of  the  Peloponnesian  war  —  proceeded  to  discuss  by 
what  means  America  had  become  a  great  nation,  examined 
the  rectitude  of  the  intentions  of  those  who  founded  it  and  of 
those  who  fought  in  the  Revolution  and  for  the  suppression 
of  the  Rebellion,  celebrated  and  affirmed  their  bravery,  and 


SEVEN    HUNDRED    AND    FIFTY    HEROES.  483 

opened  the  broad  gates  of  the  glorious  future  of  his  country. 
From  H.  M.  Page's  recollection  of  the  oration,  a  few  sen 
tences  will  be  quoted: 

Previous  to  the  advent  of  Christ,  no  one  dreamed,  no  philosopher  medi 
tated,  no  poet  sang,  of  the  universal  brotherhood  of  man.  Governments 
were  erected  for  the  benefit  of  a  single  nation  or  class,  often  for  a  small 
territory  or  single  city.  When  Pericles  said,  "all  participate  in  an  equality 
of  rights,"  etc.,  he  meant  all  Athenians  so  participated. 

But  it  is  the  crowning  glory  of  our  holy  religion  that  it  was  intended,  and 
is  destined,  to  reform  all  things  that  pertain  to  or  spring  from  man.  Jesus 
came  to  establish  a  kingdom — or,  as  we  would  now  say,  a  st.tte,  commu 
nity,  or  commonwealth  —  not  for  a  particular  state,  race,  or  color,  but  for 
man;  for  all  time>,  for  all  generations.  He  therefore  laid  its  foundations 
broad  and  deep.  It  knew  no  distinctions  of  nationalities,  or  of  caste,  or  of 
color.  Jew  and  Gentile,  Greek  and  barbarian,  bond  and  free,  black  and 
white,  were  invited  to  his  standard,  baptized  into  his  kingdom,  and  made 
equal  in  participation  of  benefits,  each  being  estimated  for  his  own  character 
and  conduct,  and  not  preferred  because  he  was  born  in  this  city,  or  on  that 
mountain. 

The  Fourth  of  July  deserves  commemoration  for  this,  that  the  same  idea 
was  then  for  the  first  time  carried  into  the  philosophy  of  government  on  a 
grand  scale.  Then  for  the  first  time  was  it  announced,  not  that  all  Ameri 
cans,  not  all  Englishmen,  not  all  Frenchmen — but  all  men  are  created 
equal,  and  equally  entitled  to  a  voice  in  the  government  which  disposes  of 
their  liberties,  their  property  and  their  lives  This  was  the  new  idea  that 
has  rendered  that  day  immortal  in  the  affections  of  men.  To  sustain  their 
declaration  our  fathers  pledged  their  lives,  their  fortunes,  and  their  sacred 
honor.  For  seven  long  years  the  contest  was  waged,  on  terms  most  un 
equal,  bv  a  handful  of  liberty-loving  men,  without  armies  or  navies,  alli 
ances  or  revenue,  against  the  mistress  of  the  seas  and  one  of  the  most  pow 
erful  monarchies  then  on  the  earth.  But  the  result  was  never  doubtful. 
The  battle  is  not  always  to  the  strong.  God  was  on  the  Ihrone  of  the  uni 
verse,  nor  slumbering  nor  sleeping;  and  truth  and  justice  prevailed  over 
injustice  and  oppression. 

Then  our  fathers  met  and  framed  a  constitution  of  government,  designed 
to  carry  into  practice  the  truths  contained  in  this  declaration.  But  they 
were  statesmen,  not  fanatics.  Slavery  was  a  fact  in  twelve  of  the  thirteen 
states.  They  did  not  instantly  and  by  violence  eradicate  it  from  the  woof 
and  web  of  society ;  though  they  d'ul  establish  a  form  of  government,  with 
such  discriminations  in  favor  of  liberty  as  in  their  opinion  would  secure  the 
speedy  destruction  of  slavery.  So  the  Son  of  Man  established  the  King 
dom  of  God.  He  came  into  a  world  cursed  with  sin,  wet  with  tears,  filled 
with  iniquity.  He  could  have  called  legions  of  angels  to  enforce  and  ex- 


484  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

ecute  his  plans,  and  establish  his  authority  and  dominion  among  men. 
But  he  knew  a  better  way.  He  wasted  no  time  or  strength  in  cleansing 
the  stream,  but  sought  to  purify  the  fountain.  He  laid  no  edicts  upon  the 
details  of  human  actions,  he  taught  pure  principles,  and  laid  his  hand  upon 
the  hearts  of  men,  knowing  that  if  they  were  made  right,  the  streams  that 
issue  therefrom,  the  currents  of  human  action,  would  take  care  of  them 
selves.  Our  fathers  did  likewise,  and  trusted  to  the  improvements  of  time 
and  the  courses  of  Divine  Providence  to  accomplish  in  all  our  borders 
universal  freedom  and  equal  rights  among  all  men,  as  men,  and  because 
men. 

#*##-»#### 

The  brave  men  to  whose  memory  this  monument  was  erected  were 
therefore  the'champions  of  liberty.  They  fell  to  reduce  the  boast  of  Pericles 
to  a  practical  and  universal  fact,  as  to  our  institutions.  In  such  a  contest 
they  succeeded,  of  course.  When  such  a  contest  begins  all  men  may 
safely  predict  the  result.  When  sight  fails  faith  may  go  on  and  chant 
the  songs  of  liberty's  triumphs;  for  such  triumph  is  sure  to  come  in  God's 
good  time.  It  is  of  no  consequence  that  a  Bull  Run  has  covered  us  with 
temporary  defeat  and  chagrin,  and  hundreds  or  thousands  of  our  hosts 
have  been  slain;  no  consequence  to  the  final  result,  I  mean;  it  is  of  con 
sequence  in  our  desolate  homes,  of  deep  importance  in  our  bleeding  hearts, 
but  of  no  consequence  to  the  result. 

Truth  will  prevail  over  falsehood,  right  over  wrong,  liberty  over  slavery, 
as  long  as  God  superintends  the  affairs  of  men. 

Carpenter  accused  President  Johnson  of  duplicity  and  con 
gress  of  cowardice  in  dealing  with  the  subject  of  reconstruct 
ing  the  southern  states,  saying : 

Congress  is  now  in  session  only  to  determine  whether  they  dare  express 
their  will  plainly  upon  this  subject.  Although  elected  for  the  very  purposes, 
yet  when  assembled  they  began  to  hesitate  and  palter  and  wonder  if  the 
people  would  sustain  them  in  such  measures  of  radical  cure  as  the  subject 
imperatively  demanded,  and  passed  a  law  half-expressing  and  half-conceal 
ing  their  will;  half-right  and  half- wrong;  and  the  President  has  kicked  the 
abortion  and  it  has  fallen  to  the  ground. 

By  this  half-way  proceeding  congress  has  delayed  reconstruction,  and  stiil 
farther  irritated  the  feelings  of  the  south.  Such  is  the  necessary  result  of 
such  a  course.  If  I  were  going  even  to  cut  a  dog's  tail  off,  I  would  cut  it 
off  at  once,  and  have  done  with  it.  The  congressional  plan  is  to  cut  off  two 
or  three  inches  every  two  or  three  days,  and  thus  keep  the  cur  yelping  and 
snapping  forever. 

This  hesitation,  letting  "  I  dare  not  wait  upon  I  would,"  is  unworthy  of 
the  north  and  injurious  to  the  south.  The  cultivation  of  the  soil  will  be 


ANOTHER   SPLENDID   ORATION.  485 

neglected,  trade  will  languish,  and  all  the  material  prosperity  of  the  south 
stand  still,  until  the  uncertainty  is  settled.  An  absolute  despotism  is  pref 
erable  to  an  absolute  doubt  for  the  government  of  any  people,  and  it  is  to 
be  hoped  that  congress  will  now  have  the  heroism  to  say  in  plain  Saxon 
whether  Phil.  Sheridan  may  remove  an  obstinate  rebel  governor  in  Louisi 
ana,  or  whether  such  governor  may  practically  nullify  the  will  of  congress 
and  the  nation. 

It  is  the  business  of  congress  to  declare  its  will ;  and  the  duty  of  the 
President  to  execute  it.  And  it  is  the  duty  of  both  to  move  together,  and 
at  once  establish  for  all  time  the  principles  of  the  declaration  of  independ 
ence;  construct  governments  for  those  states  before  whose  laws  all  men, 
black  and  white,  shall  be  equal  in  their  rights;  to  uphold  justice,  to  curb 
oppression,  to  extirpate  the  last  vestige  and  fibre  ot  slavery  and  encourage 
liberty  —  liberty  for  all  men,  for  all  time,  for  ail  nations. 

This  oration  met  with  high  praise  from  every  corner  of 
the  republic.  The  Philadelphia  Legal  Intelligencer  repub- 
lished  it  and  pronounced  Carpenter  the  modern  Pericles,  with 
no  qualities  of  eloquence  or  logic  absent  or  diminished. 

ANOTHER  SPLENDID  ORATION. 

Without  doubt  the  profoundest  and  most  far-seeing  oration 
ever  delivered  in  the  west  in  that  particular  line,  was  that  of 
Carpenter  dedicating  Memorial  Hall,  Beloit  College,  in  July, 
1869.  He  grouped  his  thoughts  and  made  his  deductions 
under  the  head  of  "  The  Mission  and  Future  Foreign  Policy 
of  the  United  States."  Some  trees  must  be  pruned,  their 
foliage  reduced,  a  limb  lopped  off  here  and  there  and  another 
trimmed  and  straightened,  in  order  to  make  them  attractive 
*  and  beautiful.  Others  can  not  be  changed  in  the  least  from 
the  original  design  and  growth  of  nature  without  destroying 
their  perfect  grace  and  beauty.  Carpenter's  oration  at 
Beloit  is  like  that  class  of  trees.  It  can  not  be  subjected  to 
reduction,  extraction  or  change  without  disaster. 

His  review  of  our  past  foreign  policy  was  scathing.  He 
averred  that  if  England  should  pay  the  losses  inflicted  by  the 
Alabama  it  would  not  cure  the  insult  to  our  nation,  and  that 
we  might,  at  any  time  in  the  future,  resent  the  outrage  by 


486  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

war  or  diplomacy.  "  We  should  not,"  he  held,  "  by  accept 
ing  money  for  this  injury,  proclaim  to  the  world  that  we  are 
a  nation  of  peddlers;  that  we  look  only  to  cash  balances; 
that  any  foreign  nation  is  at  liberty  to  fire  upon  our  flag,  in 
sult  our  sovereignty,  wring  our  noses,  and  send  us  a  check" 
He  contrasted  with  brilliant  effect  the  difference  between' 
Webster's  treatment  of  England  when  the  British  sent  the 
Caroline  blazing  over  Niagara,  during  the  Canadian  revolt, 
and  England's  treatment  of  the  north  for  the  arrest  of  Mason 
and  Slidell,  two  rebels,  on  a  British  vessel,  by  a  Union  officer. 
The  British  foreign  office  demanded  an  immediate  release  of 
the  prisoners  and  an  apology,  and  Seward  complied.  Thun 
dered  Carpenter: 

That  reply,  in  seventeen  solid  pages,  more  or  less,  is  the  most  uncandid 
and  shameful  paper  that  ever  emanated  from  an  American  secretary  of 
state.  *  *  *  For  all  these  injuries,  and  all  this  insolence,  we  have  a 
right  to  hold  England  responsible,  as  one  nation  must  answer  to  another. 
We  have  a  perfect  right  to  go  to  war  with  her  if  we  please,  and  that  right 
will  keep.  We  can  bide  our  time,  select  the  occasion,  and  if,  in  some  crisis 
of  her  political  destiny,  we  should  see  that  it  was  in  our  power,  by  enforcing 
our  utmost  rights  by  war,  to  be  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  God  to  avenge 
the  outrages  committed  by  that  blood-stained  old  monarchy,  and  in  estab 
lishing  the  preponderance  of  the  republican  element  of  her  people,  no  prin 
ciple  of  the  law  of  nations  would  be  violated  because  we  had  chosen  that 
moment  for  the  stern  enforcement  of  our  just  rights.  *  *  *  The  great 
offense  of  England  was  an  offense  against  the  world,  an  act  of  rebellion 
against  the  moral  government  of  God,  and  we  have  no  right  to  take  the 
place  of  the  Almighty  and  compound  her  crimes  for  money.  The  wages 
of  sin  in  the  individual  is  death.  The  wages  of  sin  in  the  cause  of  a  great 
nation  is  destruction. 

The  boldness  and  boundlessness  of  his  statesmanship  were 
unfolded  in  the  discussion  of  the  struggles  of  other  nations 
for  freedom.  He  put  forth:  "We  have  grown  to  such  im 
portance  as  a  nation  that  we  can  no  longer  wink  at  one 
nation's  oppression  of  another,  or  stand  by  while  a  wrong  is 
committed  which  it  is  within  our  power  to  prevent,  without 
becoming  responsible  morally  for  that  wrong."  He  then 
admitted  that  this  was  contrary  to  the  injunction  of  Wash- 


ANOTHER   SPLENDID   ORATION.  487 

ington's  farewell  address,  but  pointed  out  that  the  Father 
of  his  Country  was  then  speaking  to  children  in  the  nursery: 

But  that  condition  has  passed;  that  immunity  which  is  granted  to  child 
hood  and  helplessness  has  ceased.  We  have  attained  our  manhood,  and 
must  now  face  the  duties  and  bear  the  responsibilities  of  manhood.  We 
must  be  about  our  father's  business.  But,  says  the  objector,  no  master  if  it 
is  our  duty;  to  do  our  duty  will  get  us  into  war,  and  war  increases  taxa 
tion  ;  *  *  *  we  can  grow  very  rich,  though  despotism  may  violate  all 
the  law  in  other  places,  and  extinguish  every  impulse  or  longing  for  liberty 
elsewhere.  I  say,  away  with  this  philosophy  of  gain,  this  wisdom  of  the 
peddler.  If  it  is  right  to  stand  by  and  silently  witness  wrongs  we  might 
arrest,  let  us  do  so  because  it  is  right,  and  not  because  it  might  cost  monej 
to  do  our  duty.  Everything  is  expensive.  It  costs  time  to  pray;  costs 
money  to  clothe  our  wives  and  educate  our  children;  costs  money  to  sus 
tain  civil  government,  to  administer  justice,  and  to  carry  forward  the 
methods  of  our  complex  civilization.  But  what  was  this  vast  continent,  its 
rich  fields,  its  exhaustless  mines,  its  facilities  for  commerce,  its  immeasur 
able  and  yet  undeveloped  resources  of  national  wealth,  given  to  us  for? 
That  we  might  become  the  richest  and  most  corrupt  nation  on  earth?  Or 
have  we  received  them  from  the  Giver  of  all  good  to  use  in  His  service,  and 
in  trust  for  the  benefit  of  our  race  ? 

In  speaking  of  the  college  students  who  fell  in  the  Rebell 
ion,  and  in  whose  honor  Memorial  Hall  was  erected,  he  said: 

It  now  devolves  upon  us  who  survive  to  determine  whether  their  lives 
were  laid  down  in  vain.  And  in  no  way,  I  conceive,  can  we  so  truly  honor 
them  as  in  studying  well  and  performing  faithfully  the  duty  they  cast  upon 
us.  If  we  prove  equal  to  our  opportunity,  if  we  stand  firmly  for  justice  and 
for  equality  among  all  men,  if  we  keep  the  lamp  of  liberty  burning,  and 
allow  its  light  to  shine  from  our  altitude  throughout  the  world,  we  honor 
them;  they  have  not  died  in  vain;  therefore,  it  seems  to  be  appropriate  to 
this  occasion  to  inquire  into  our  new  duties,  and  gird  ourselves  for  their 
performance.  They  died  for  others,  not  for  themselves;  let  us  so  live  as 
to  exert  the  influence  of  the  exalted  position  they  have  conferred  upon  us 
for  the  welfare  of  mankind  and  not  for  the  attainment  of  selfish  ends. 

A  great  audience  of  scholars,  officials,  patriots  and  gen 
erals  was  present  when  this  address  was  delivered.  The 
occasion,  President  Chapin  has  written,  was  one  of  the  most 
interesting  in  the  history  of  Beloit  College,  one  of  the  oldest 
institutions  of  learning  in  Wisconsin.  On  the  same  day,  July 
15,  1869,  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  college  spontaneously 


488  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

and  unanimously  conferred  upon  Carpenter  the  degree  of 
LL.  D.  The  announcement  of  this  action  by  the  board  was 
publicly  made  as  a  part  of  the  services  of  the  day,  and  by  that 
means  first  came  to  Carpenter's  knowledge.  He  was  always 
held  in  high  esteem  by  the  college  officers  and  students, 
though  in  early  years  he  attempted  to  rule  out  the  votes  of 
the  non-resident  students  at  one  of  the  state  elections.  The 
attempt  was  made  at  the  request  and  for  the  benefit  of  the 
democracy.  President  Chapin  presented  the  intrinsic  merits 
of  the  case,  and  Carpenter  was  defeated;  but  his  plea,  Mr. 
Chapin  writes,  "was  one  of  extraordinary  plausibility  and 
ingenuity." 

ADVICE  TO  YOUNG  LAWYERS 

In  1869  the  members  of  the  graduating  class  of  Colum 
bian  University,  Washington,  by  vote  elected  Carpenter  to 
deliver  the  annual  address.  He  accepted,  and  gave  them  an 
original,  unique  and  practical  sermon.  The  effort  was 
printed  in  pamphlet  form,  and  continues  to  grow  in  demand 
at  all  universities,  schools  and  libraries  frequented  by  law 
students.  He  hoped  the  graduates  wrere  poor,  regarding 
poverty  as  indispensable  to  success,  and  observed: 

A  rich  man  may,  possibly,  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  Heaven;  so  a  rich 
man  may,  possibly,  become  a  good  lawyer,  but  I  always  pity  him  when  I 
think  how  fearfully  the  chances  are  against  him.  *  *  *  Leave  Wash 
ington,  where  a  man  is  estimated  according  to  the  place  he  is  in  and  not  ac 
cording  to  the  qualities  that  are  in  him.  *  *  *  In  admonishing  you  to 
keep  out  of  politics,  of  course  I  do  not  mean  that  you  are  to  sink  your  man 
hood  or  waive  the  participation  which  it  is  the  right  and  duty  of  every 
American  citizen  to  exercise  in  influencing  the  course  of  political  events. 
What  I  mean  is  that  you  should  avoid  office-seeking  and  office-holding. 
*  *  *  If  you  can  not  endure  to  occupy  the  highest  position  in  American 
life  —  an  eminent  place  at  the  bar  —  I  beseech  you  to  stop  on  the  bench  and 
not  fall  into  the  dirty  pools  of  politics.  *  *  *  If  you  have  the  slightest 
doubt  of  the  soundness  of  the  advice  I  have  offered  you,  wait  till  you  have 
achieved  a  respectable  position  at  the  bar  and  then  accept  a  seat  in  the  sen 
ate,  and  I  venture  the  prediction  that  your  judgment  will  condemn  your 
weakness,  as  mine  does  my  own. 


ADVICE   TO   YOUNG   LAWYERS.  489 

Having  advised  the  fledgling  attorneys  to  select  a  location 
in  the  west  or  south,  he  adjured  them  not  to  be  particular  as 
to  office  furniture,  but  to  store  their  rooms  "  with  all  the 
books  they  could  borrow  the  money  to  purchase."  He  then 
advised  them  how  to  purchase: 

The  statutes  and  reports  of  your  adopted  state  and  the  best  elementary 
works  will,  of  course,  be  indispensable.  Next,  buy  the  New  York  reports, 
which  will  furnish  you  with  ingeniously-reasoned  cases  on  every  side  of 
every  question;  and  then,  to  relieve  a  little  bewilderment  of  the  inexpe 
rienced  mind,  tossed  to  and  fro  by  reading  New  York  decisions,  you  will 
need  the  sobering  influence  and  steady  support  of  the  Massachusetts  re 
ports  ;  and  then  —  if  any  part  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  be 
left  —  you  will  need  the  decisions  of  the  federal  courts.  Next,  and  before 
the  reports  of  other  states,  I  would  buy  all  the  English  common  law  and 
chancery  reports  and  continue  them  with  the  present  series,  bringing  in  the 
decisions  of  the  English  courts  within  a  few  weeks  after  their  actual  de 
livery.  Then  you  will  want  the  English  statutes  and  state  trials,  and  then 
the  reports  of  the  American  states  not  before  procured. 

You  should  also  be  purchasing,  part  fassut  and  as  fast  as  possible,  all 
those  works  which  belong  to  the  border  land  between  literature  and  the 
law,  the  best  treatises  upon  the  science  of  politics  and  of  government,  con 
stitutional  histories,  English  and  American.  Especially  should  you  have 
and  know  by  heart  Lewis  on  the  Reasonings  and  Methods  in  Politics  and 
Austin  on  the  Province  of  Jurisprudence,  together  with  the  works  of  em 
inent  English  and  American  lawyers  and  statesmen  —  Burke,  Sheridan, 
Webster  and  Calhoun  —  by  no  means  neglecting  the  philosophers  and 
poets,  theology  and  history,  and  be  sure  to  have  the  best  copies  money  will 
buy  of  Shakespeare  and  Waverly,  so  that  when  the  misfortunes  of  life 
multiplv  upon  you  and  their  clouds  settle  low;  when  the  courts  by  horrible 
blundering  decide  a  good  cause  against  you,  which  decided  correctly  would 
have  brought  fame  and  fat  fees;  when  your  landlord  is  impatient  for  rent 
and  your  heart  cast  down  before  the  rugged  realities  of  life,  you  may  re 
store  your  spirits  in  the  sweet  field  of  innocent  fiction  and  divine  fancy. 

He  laid  emphasis  on  the  necessity  of  method  in  reading. 
"  For  instance,"  he  directed,  "  from  ten  to  eleven  o'clock 
each  day  read  nothing  but  treatises  and  reports  upon  equi 
table  jurisprudence;  from  eleven  to  twelve  devote  to  evidence; 
from  twelve  to  one  to  pleading  and  practice,  and  so  on. 
But  it  is  not  so  much  what  your  method  may  be  as  that  you 
have  a  method,  and  then  adhere  .to  it." 


LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

Among  the  injunctions  that  must  not  be  disobeyed  was 
that  requiring  a  thorough  reading  and  close  study  of  the 
opinions  of  John  Marshall.  He  related,  to  fix  this  adjuration 
upon  the  minds  of  the  students,  an  incident: 

I  recollect  reading,  while  a  student,  the  argument  of  Mr.  Webster  upon 
the  question  of  the  constitutionality  of  state  insolvent  laws,  as  fully  re 
ported  in  Mr.  Everett's  edition  of  Mr.  Webster's  works,  and  before  I  knew 
how  the  case  had  been  decided  by  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States. 
While  reading  that  argument  I  was  carried  along  captive,  through  para 
graph  after  paragraph,  from  proposition  to  proposition,  and  when  I  had  fin 
ished  it  I  never  thought  oflooking  to  see  how  the  case  was  decided,  because 
I  would  have  made  my  affidavit  that  Webster's  argument  was  wholly  un 
answerable,  and  of  course  the  case  must  have  been  decided  with  him.  And 
when  I  found,  a  yt  ar  or  two  later,  that  the  court  decided  the  case  the  other 
way,  I  recollect  that  I  lost  confidence  in  human  reasoning  for  the  space  of 
ten  days.  Nothing  finally  consoled  this  disappointment  except  the  fact  that 
the  great  chief  justice  dissented  from  the  decision  of  the  court  and  canon 
ized  the  argument  of  Mr.  Webster.  But  for  this  I  think  I  should  have  con 
cluded  that  logic  was  an  unsafe  guide  in  the  labyrinths  of  the  law;  however, 
I  satisfied  the  wounded  pride  of  my  boyish  judgment  by  resolving  that 
Webster  and  Marshall  were  greater  authority  than  the  rest  of  mankind  com 
bined,  and  that  Webster  was  right  though  he  did  not  succeed. 

Webster  once  said  a  good  lawyer,  at  his  death,  should  have 
neither  a  debt  nor  a  dollar.  Carpenter  said  a  lawyer  must 
make  money  enough  to  pay  his  bills.  "  Save  money,"  he 
cried,  "  if  you  can ;  but  how  you  are  to  do  it  must  be  learned 
of  somebody  besides  me."  He  went  on: 

And  yet  the  profession  has  its  rewards.  "  Heaven  is  above  all  yet.  There 
sits  a  judge"  whose  approbation  is  the  lawyer's  highest  reward.  And  even 
in  this  world  the  profession  has  its  rewards.  Who  would  think  of  weighing 
gold  against  tears  of  gratitude  trickling  d~wn  the  cheek  of  poverty  rescued 
by  your  ability,  your  courage,  and  your  fidelity,  from  an  unmerited  doom. 
You  all  remember  how  Mr.  Seward,  while  at  the  bar,  without  fee  or  re 
ward,  and  braving  the  uproar  of  popular  clamor,  defended  a  Negro  against 
the  charge  of  murder  on  the  plea  of  insanity,  which,  in  the  popular  belief, 
was  a  falsehood,  although  the  fact  was  subsequently  verified  by  the  death  of 
the  Negro  in  an  insane  asylum.  This  was  years  ago  —  prior  to  the  thir 
teenth,  the  fourteenth  and  the  fifteenth  amendments  of  the  constitution  — 
and  before  the  Negro  became  an  object  of  national  justice  and  political 
affection. 

Mr.  Seward  has  since  passed  through  an  eventful  and  illustrious  career  of 


A   CHARITY   HOMILY.  49! 

public  life,  during  which  he  has  "  sounded  all  the  depths  and  shoals  of 
honor,"  and  has  finally  retired  to  Auburn  to  collect  his  thoughts  and  com 
pose  his  soul  before  leaving  the  shores  of  time  to  enter  upon  an  eternal 
career  beyond  the  celestial  gates.  And  methinks,  as  he  sits  in  that  tranquil 
retreat,  looking  out  upon  the  uneasy  and  stormy  world,  where  "restless 
mediocrity  "  is  rising  to  the  surface  to-day  to  sink  out  of  sight  to-morrow, 
and  looking  back  over  the  incidents  of  his  busy  life,  he  would  not  exchange 
that  recollection  —  the  consciousness  of  duty  performed  in  rescuing  this  un 
fortunate  individual  of  a  degraded  race,  smitten  with  mental  m  <lady,  and 
in  peril  of  the  prejudice,  the  passions,  the  rage  of  the  populace,  more  fearful 
than  maladies  —  for  the  largest  fee  he  ever  received,  or  for  the  memory  of 
the  proudest  achievement  of  his  political  life.  This  conspicuous  act  of  pro 
fessional  bravery  and  charity  will  grow  brighter  and  brighter  through  Mr. 
Se ward's  mortal  life,  and  when  he  shall  stand  before  the  Son  of  Man  at 
that  fearful  winnowing  which  shall  separate  the  wheat  from  chaff,  that  awful 
judgment  which  shall  forever  divide  the  just  from  the  unjust,  he  may  point 
to  this  act  of  his  life  which,  eighteen  hundred  years  berore  it  was  performed, 
received  the  Master's  approbation. 

"  Then  shall  the  king  say  unto  them  on  his  right  hand,  come,  ye  blessed 
of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world:  for  I  was  an  hungered  and  ye  gave  me  meat;  I  was  thirsty  and 
ye  gave  me  drink;  I  was  a  stranger  and  ye  took  me  in;  naked  and  ye  clothed 
me;  I  was  sick  and  ye  visited  me;  I  was  in  prison  and  ye  came  in  unto  me. 
Then  shall  the  righteous  answer  him  saying:  When  saw  we  thee  an  hungere.1 
and  fed  thee?  Or  thirsty  and  gave  thee  drink?  When  saw  we  thee  a 
stranger  and  took  thee  in?  Or  naked  and  clothed  thee?  Or  when  saw  we 
thee  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  came  unto  thee?  And  the  king  shall  answer  and 
say  unto  them :  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto 
the  least  of  these,  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me."  *  *  * 

Some  of  you  will  be  democrats  and  some  republicans.  As  to  all  matters 
of  mere  political  economy  and  policy  you  may  divide  in  opinion  and  con 
tend  in  action;  but  you  must  remember  that  whenever  the  slightest  letter 
of  the  constitution  is  imperiled  you  are  the  sworn  champions  of  that  sacred 
charter,  and  you  must  forget  all  political  differences  and  rally  to  its  support 
like  a  priesthood  rallying  to  the  defense  of  a  holy  shrine.  And  if  the  con 
stitution  shall  be  stabbed  to  death  by  its  foes,  let  not  its  expiring  spirit  turn 
upon  you  with  the  reproach,  sharper  than  a  thousand  daggers,  "  et  tu 
Brute!  " 

A  CHARITY  HOMILY. 

On  the  1 3th  day  of  August,  1868,  the  corner-stone  of  the 
Taylor  Orphan  Asylum,  one  of  the  noble  charities  of  the 
northwest,  was  laid  at  Racine,  Wisconsin,  amidst  elaborate 


492 


LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 


civil  and  religious  ceremonies.  Carpenter  was  the  orator  of 
the  day.  Some  extracts  may  be  preserved,  not  to  demon 
strate  his  felicity  of  speech  on  such  an  occasion,  but  to 
illustrate  the  foundation  tenets  of  his  every-day  religion: 

Isaac  Taylor  was  born  in  England  in  1810.  He  was  left  an  orphan,  in 
tender  years,  and  learning  from  a  conversation,  which  he  hastily  overheard, 
that  he  was  to  be  sent  to  the  poor-house  for  orphan  children,  he  ran  away; 
and  by  laboring  in  different  places  for  several  years,  earned  and  saved 
money  enough  to  bring  him  to  America.  He  landed  in  New  York  in  1828. 
In  1842  he  removed  to  Racine,  and  resided  here,  actively  engaged  in  busi 
ness  at  this  place  and  in  Chicago,  until  his  death.  Wealth  flowed  to  him, 
but  did  not  sweep  him  from  his  moorings;  did  not  harden  his  heart  or 
wither  his  sympathies  for  the  oppressed  or  the  afflicted. 

Mr.  Taylor  executed  a  will  leaving  all  his  property  unconditionally  to 
his  wife.  He  had  always  meditated  establishing  an  orphan  asylum  at  this 
place,  and  was  maturing  plans  to  carry  this  purpose  into  effect  when  he 
was  overtaken  by  his  last  sickness.  After  he  became  aware  of  his  situa 
tion,  he  called  his  wife  to  his  bed-side,  and  made  it  the  subject  of  his  dying 
request,  that  she  should  carry  out  his  purpose  in  this  respect.  Mrs.  Taylor 
survived  her  husband  only  ten  months;  but  left  a  will,  which  accomplishes 
the  wish  of  her  husband,  and  secures  the  permanent  existence  of  this 
institution  of  benevolence  and  charity,  as  she  expressed  it  herself,  "as  a 
memorial  to  him" 

Mrs.  Taylor  bequeathed  to  the  Racine  College,  $65,000;  to  the  Nashota 
College,  $5,000;  to  the  orphan  asylum  in  Cleveland,  $6,000;  to  the  Home 
of  the  Friendless,  $1,000;  to  the  Racine  Cemetery  Association,  $3,000; 
about  $175,000  to  her  relatives  and  friends;  and  the  magnificent  sum  of 
$150,000  to  trustees  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  this  orphan  asylum; 
$25,000  to  be  invested  in  grounds  and  buildings,  and  $125,000  to  remain  a 
permanent  fund  for  the  support  of  the  institution.  Its  benefits  are  to  be 
extended  first  to  the  orphans  of  Racine  county,  and  then  as  far  as  possible 
to  the  orphans  of  the  state  generally. 

This  fund  was  not  left  to  a  board  of  trustees  composed  of  men,  but  left  as 
such  a  sacred  bequest  should  have  been,  to  five  ladies  of  Racine — Mrs. 
Perrine,  Mrs.  Dyer,  Mrs.  Murray,  Mrs.  Tapley  and  Mrs.  Gould.  No  better 
guaranty  could  be  expected  that  this  fund  will  be  faithfullv  guarded  and 
religiously  applied  than  is  found  in  the  tender  consciences  and  affectionate 
hearts  of  five  noble  women.  If  they  —  supplied  with  this  full  fund  for  the 
purpose  —  do  not  hear  and  heed  the  cry  of  the  fatherless,  then  may  God 
have  mercy  upon  them,  for  surely  no  human  arrangement  can  insure  their 
relief. 

The  world  is  overrun  with  fine  sentiments,  loud-sounding  creeds,  and  the 
doctrines  and  precepts  of  charity.  Here  we  see  an  act  of  charity.  Others 


A   CHARITY    HOMILY.  493 

have  talked  generously,  that  is  easy  and  cheap;  but  he  has  acted  gener 
ously,  nobly,  benevolently.  lie  has  founded  an  institution  to  shelter  the 
helpless;  to  clothe  and  feed  them;  to  rear  them  to  useful  and  virtuous 
lives;  to  teach  them  the  truths  of  our  holy  religion;  truths  that  take  hold 
on  the  future  life,  and  promise  blessings  which  it  hath  not  entered  into  the 
heart  of  man  to  conceive. 

"If  a  brother  or  sis'er  be  naked  and  destitute  of  daily  food,  and  one  of 
you  say  unto  them,  Depart  in  peace,  be  ye  warmed  and  filled;  notwith 
standing  ve  give  them  not  those  things  which  are  needful  to  the  body,  •what 
doth  it  profit 7" 

The  poor  want  less  talk  and  more  bread.  The  world  needs  less  doctrine 
and  more  religion;  less  of  form  and  more  of  substance;  less  of  the  pretend 
ing  and  more  of  the  reality  of  godliness  and  charity.  The  money  worse 
than  wasted  in  the  superfluities  of  life,  in  silk  and  satin  to  be  draggled  by 
our  wives  and  daughters  through  filthy  streets,  would  clothe  all  the  orphans 
in  the  world. 

The  money  spent  in  whisky  to  madden  the  brain,  in  tobacco  to  shatter 
the  nerves,  in  politics  to  promote  the  demagogues,  would  carry  all  the  com 
forts  of  life  to  every  hearth-stone  in  the  land;  educate  the  ignorant;  lift  up 
the  oppressed;  and  pour  oil  and  wine  into  all  the  wounds  of  suffering 
humanity. 

But  of  all  the  duties  of  life,  there  is  none  that  touches  us  so  near  the 
tender  emotions  of  the  heart,  none  that  is  commanded  by  God  in  language 
of  such  solemn  and  awful  warning,  as  the  duty  of  protecting  the  unpro 
tected,  and  befriending  the  fatherless  child.  In  that  great  code  given  by 
God  himself  to  his  chosen  people,  a  code  which  mingles  municipal  regula 
tions  with  moral  precepts,  it  is  written,  "  Ye  shall  not  afflict  any  widow  or 
fatherless  child.  If  thou  afflict  them  in  any  -zi'ise,  and  they  cry  at  all  unto 
me,  I  will  surely  hear  their  cry,  and  my  wrath  shall  wax  hot,  and  I  will  kill 
you  with  the  sword,  and  your  wives  shall  be  widows,  and  your  children 
fatherless" 

If  we  could  realize  the  full  force  of  this  passage,  and  if  we  could  feel  in 
our  hearts  that  in  the  person  of  the  beggar  on  the  corner  Jesus  is  holding 
up  his  hands  for  alms ;  that  in  the  cry  of  the  orphan  Jesus  is  pleading  with 
us  for  shelter  and  food  and  raiment;  that  in  every  prison  to-day  Jesus  is 
languishing,  and  in  many  a  hovel  starving;  would  we  turn  away  so  calmly 
and  spend  our  money  for  whisky  and  cigars,  for  diamond  rings  and  satin 
dresses? 

If  we  were  alive  to  the  truth  and  fully  realized  it,  could  we  ever  fold  our 
little  ones  to  our  bosoms  without  thinking  of  those  who  have  no  father  to 
gather  them  in  the  clasp  of  affection?  But  the  trouble  is,  we  do  not  think, 
and  "  Evil  is  wrought  by  want  of  thought  as  well  as  want  of  heart" 
The  poor  are  not  neglected  because  the  rich  are  devoid  of  feeling.  But 
without  some  special  experience  or  startling  call  we  go  thoughtlessly  on, 
never  heeding  the  misery  that  is  around  us  on  every  hand. 


494  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

"  Thou  shalt  neither  vex  a  stranger  nor  oppress  him;  for  ye  were  stran 
gers  in  the  land  of  Egypt."  It  is  fair  to  infer  that  they  were  strangers  so 
that  they  might  not  thereafter  vex  and  oppress  the  stranger;  and  their  ex 
perience  is  improved  to  instruct  them  in  their  duty.  All  his  early  recollec 
tions  were  calling  to  Isaac  Taylor,  "remember  the  fatherless,  for  ye  were 
fatherless."  It  is  a  mysterious  economy  that  some  must  suffer  for  the  good 
of  others.  But  so  it  is.  One  suffers  sorrow  that  he  may  remember  to  re 
lieve  the  sorrows  of  others;  and  Jesus,  himself  sinless,  died  to  redeem  the 
world  from  the  penalty  of  sin. 

Let  us  go  from  this  place  taught  by  the  example  of  him  who  has  gone 
before  us,  and  resolved  to  the  extent  of  our  means  to  relieve  whatever  suf 
fering  we  may  meet     By  charity,  by  benevolence,  by  kind-heartedness, 
"We  may  make  our  lives  sublime, 
And  departing,  leave  behind  us 
Foot-prints  in  the  sands  of  time." 

FIFTY  THOUSAND  HEARERS. 

For  many  years  after  1868  it  was  said  Carpenter,  like 
Lord  Byron,  awoke  one  morning  and  found  himself  famous. 
This  was  not  strictly  true,  but  the  occasion  was  so  extraor 
dinary  as  to  merit  special  attention.  He  was  invited  by  the 
Republican  Fenian  Club,  of  Illinois,  to  address  them  at  a 
mass-meeting  on  August  12,  1868,  in  Chicago,  and  accepted. 
When  the  ceremonies  opened  he  found  over  thirty  thousand 
people  present,  and  after  proceeding  for  a  time  the  proces 
sion,  with  bands,  cannons,  torches  and  rockets,  came  in,  and 
the  vast  throng  was  then  swollen  to  fifty  thousand. 

He  drew  a  parallel,  or  contrast,  between  the  struggle  for 
freedom  in  the  United  States  and  in  Ireland,  and  pointed  out 
how  the  democracy  hefe,  and  the  English  government  there, 
had  championed  the  cause  of  bondage.  Neither  one,  he  de 
clared,  had  ever  been  the  friend  of  freedom  or  the  Irish 
nation.  After  tracing  history  down  to  Fenianism  and  the 
Rebellion,  he  said: 

Well,  after  a  while,  the  war  came  out  just  as  every  man  who  believes  God 
sits  on  His  throne,  and  prefers  truth  to  falsehood,  justice  to  injustice,  lib 
erty  to  slavery,  might  have  predicted  it  would  coma  out.  It  came  out 
with  the  triumph  of  all  good  things  over  all  bad  things. 

*  *  *  As  the  right  has  always  triumphed,  so  it  always  will.  Join 
your  hands,  then,  and  join  your  voices  with  the  party  which  is  pledged  to 
see  every  man  free. 


A   FUNERAL   ORATION.  495 

For  days  the  newspapers  of  the  country  teemed  with  the 
praises  of  Carpenter.  They  contended  that  he  held  a  larger 
audience  than  had  ever  before  been  addressed  by  any  man 
in  America,  and  that  his  speech  was  that  of  a  profound 
statesman  and  consummate  orator. 

A  FUNERAL  ORATION. 

One  of  Carpenter's  favorite  divines,  Father  James  Cook 
Richmond,  was  murdered  at  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  July, 
1866.  A  few  days  later  the  members  of  his  former  flock 
gathered  in  Trinity  church,  Milwaukee,  to  weep  over  his 
death  and  pay  tribute  to  his  virtues.  Carpenter  was  chosen 
to  give  voice  to  their  lamentations  and  laudations.  It  was  an 
utterance  powerful  in  description,  fascinating  in  eloquence 
and  tender  in  pathos.  Only  a  few  paragraphs  describing  in 
cidents  of  his  own  life  will  be  extracted  from  an  imperfect 
report  of  it: 

In  1861,  when  our  Second  regiment  marched  to  the  field,  Father  Rich 
mond  went  with  it  as  chaplain.  On  his  way  to  the  cars,  he  came,  in  his 
hurried  and  agitated  manner,  into  my  office,  and  found  James  Mitchell  and 
myself  there  alone.  He  had  been  parting  with  friends,  his  eyes  were  filled 
with  tears,  his  voice  was  tremulous  with  emotion,  and  his  whole  frame 
shook  like  an  aspen  in  a  storm.  /  shall  never  forget  that  impressive  scene. 
"Boys,"  said  he,  "I  have  not  a  moment  to  spare;  you  have  been  my 
friends  always,  my  true,  undoubting  friends.  I  have  nothing  to  give  you 
but  my  blessing;  receive  it."  From  his  majestic  and  patriarchal  authority 
there  was  no  appeal ;  we  bowed  our  heads,  and  with  his  hands  upon  them 
he  invoked  God's  blessing  upon  us,  and  baptized  us  with  his  tears.  He 
then  said,  "I  have  a  presentiment  that  I  shall  never  return  to  the  little 
church  again ;  a  presentiment  that  I  shall  never  return  at  all.  I  am  not 
very  prudent,  I  may  be  killed  in  battle,  I  may  die  of  disease;  if  so,  let  my 
friends  meet  in  the  little  church  and  pray;  and  speak  of  me  just  as  I  was. 
Tell  them  I  had  great  faults,  but  tell  them  that  I  loved  them,  and  labored 
and  longed  for  their  salvation.  God  bless  you,  good-bye;"  and  he  disap 
peared  without  a  word  spoken  by  Mitchell  or  myself. 

He  did  return,  but  not  to  this  church;  he  returned  to  his  own  home,  and 
there  met  death  by  violence,  and  like  good  Abel,  died  in  the  open  field. 
Poor  Mitchell  went  first  to  his  final  account;  and  alas!  how  many  mourn 
ful  memories  cluster  around  his  grave.  As  the  only  survivor  of  the  scene 


496  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

I  have  related,  and  within  the  brief  space  appropriate  to  this  occasion,  let 
me  attempt  the  duty  he  enjoined  upon  us;  let  me  try  to  speak  of  Father 
Richmond  "just  as  he  rvas." 

He  was  tall,  raw-boned,  with  a  haggard  look,  and  in  social  life  was  ex 
tremely  awkward;  but  when  the  abrupt  and  angular  motions  of  his  arms 
and  body  were  disguised  with  robes,  he  seemed  the  personification  of 
majesty.  With  what  dignity  of  action  he  approached  the  altar.  His  man 
ner  was  so  impressive  that  I  never  wondered  very  much  at  the  excited  and 
susceptible  little  girl  1  who,  the  first  time  she  ever  attended  any  church,  saw 
Father  Richmond  robed  and  entering  the  chancel;  and  when  he  opened  the 
prayer  book,  and  read  in  his  authoritative  style:  "The  Lord  is  in  His  holy 
temple,  let  all  the  earth  —  keep  silence  —  before  him,"  turned  to  her  mother, 
and  in  a  whisper  asked,  "  Is  that  God,  mamma?  "  His  lofty  bearing,  his  care 
worn,  haggard  visage,  his  solemn,  penetrating,  awe-inspiring  voice,  his  clear 
articulation,  his  majestic  and  expressive  accent,  made  you  feel  in  a  moment 
that  you  were  in  the  presence  ot  a  master. 

*****  **** 

I  can  not  close  without  reminding'  you  how  sublimelv  he  celebrated  the 
ordinances  and  sacraments  of  the  church.  I  can  only  remind  you  of  it;  no 
tongue  could  describe  it.  If  you  have  seen  him  by  me  sick-bed  of  your 
dying  children,  as  I  saw  him  beside  mine  in  the  very  ante-chamber  of  death, 
baptizing  little  innocents,  who  were  just  fluttering  like  stray  angels,  wan 
dered  unawares  from  the  pearly  gate,  and  longing  to  return,  loth  to  remain 
in  this  sin-stricken,  wretched  world ;  if  you  have  seen  him  stretching  out  his 
arms  repeating  the  solemn  service,  "  We  receive  this  child  into  the  congre 
gation  of  Christ's  flock,  and  do  sign  her  with  the  sign  of  the  cross; "  if  you 
have  clung  to  him  for  consolation  when  your  wife  and  children,  in  the 
chamber  of  another  dying  child,  were  trembling  and  crying  around  you, 
and  your  own  heart-strings  were  breaking  with  grief;  if  you  have  gone 
with  him,  been  led,  sustained  and  supported  by  him  to  the  grave  of  some 
dear  one,  gone  before  you;  if  you  have  heard  from  him,  "  I  am  the  resurrec 
tion  and  the  life,  and  who  so  believeth  in  me,  even  though  he  were  dead,  yet 
shall  he  live  again ;  and  whosoever  liveth  and  believeth,  the  same  shall  never 
die;"  and,  then,  those  dreadful  words,  that  ring  in  your  ears  like  the  knell 
of  last  hopes  while  your  heart  is  dissolving  with  sorrow,  "  Earth  to  earth, 
ashes  to  aslics,  dust  to  dust ;  "  if  you  have  followed  him  through  such  scenes, 
then  cherish  the  memory  of  them  in  your  hearts,  vou  will  never  know  the 
like  again.  There  was  but  one  Father  Richmond;  he  has  gone  down  to  the 
grave.  Your  sorrows  may  return,  but  he  can  not  — 

Richmond  "is  in  his  grave; 

"  After  life's  fitful  fever,  he  sleeps  well." 

1  Miss  Lilian,  Carpenter's  only  daughter. 


DIVINE    WORD-PAINTING.  497 

REPUBLICS  NOT  UNGRATEFUL. 

On  Monday,  September  27,  1869,  the  splendid  structure 
and  magnificent  stretch  of  four  hundred  acres  of  oak  forest 
and  emerald  lea,  at  Milwaukee,  called  the  National  Home 
for  Disabled  Soldiers,  were  dedicated  to  the  noble  use  for 
which  they  were  prepared.  Carpenter  was  chosen  to  make 
a  reply  to  General  B.  F.  Butler's  address  of  welcome.  It 
was  brief  but  felicitous.  He  proclaimed  that  republics  are  not 
ungrateful,  and  that  liberal  as  had  been  the  provision  for 
them,  the  soldiers  deserved  all  the  pensions,  all  the  offices, 
all  the  eulogies  and  all  the  national  homes  that  ever  had  been 
or  ever  would  be  set  apart  for  their  honor  and  comfort. 

A  TRIBUTE  TO   THE   PRESS. 

At  a  banquet  given  June  17,  1873,  m  La  Crosse,  to  the 
members  of  the  Wisconsin  State  Editorial  Association,  Car 
penter  delivered  a  brief  address.  He  declared  the  press 
was  "  the  center  of  power  —  nothing  could  withstand  its 
united  opposition.  The  newspapers  could  have  defeated  the 
back-pay  bill  if  they  had  opened  upon  it  a  week  before  the 
final  vote  was  taken." 

DIVINE  WORD-PAINTING. 

In  the  fall  of  1871  the  Grand  Duke  Alexis,  brother  of 
Alexander  III,  present  Czar  of  Russia,  came  to  the  United 
States.  He  spent  some  time  visiting  the  chief  centers  of 
population  and  commerce,  and  made  Milwaukee  a  part  of 
his  itinerancy.  A  banquet  was  given  in  his  honor  in  that  city 
January  2,  1872.  Carpenter  had  returned  from  Washington 
the  day  before  to  spend  the  holiday  recess,  and  was  invited 
to  be  present.  As  the  gorgeous  ceremonies  progressed,  the 
Grand  Duke  proposed  the  health  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  The  president  of  the  day,  Geo.  W.  Allen, 
suddenly  turned  and  called  upon  Carpenter  for  a  response. 
There  was  no  hesitation.  The  phonographic  report  of  his 
32 


498  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

reply  is  as  follows,  though  every  person  present  on  that  oc 
casion  bears  testimony  that  it  but  poorly  compares  in  ele 
gance  and  eloquence  with  the  inspiriting  original: 

MR.  PRESIDENT: — The  heart  of  every  American  citizen  responds  cor 
dially  to  every  compliment  paid  to  the  chief  magistrate  of  our  nation. 
Our  people  entertain  for  the  great  office  first  filled  by  Washington  habitual 
respect  and  reverence;  and  of  the  present  chief  magistrate  it  is  not  too  much 
to  say  that  no  President  for  many  years  has  held  a  firmer  or  warmer  place 
in  popular  affection.  This  occasion,  which  is  eminently  one  in  the  inter 
ests  of  peace  and  national  brotherhood,  is  one  in  which  President  Grant 
would  take  the  liveliest  interest.  Though  educated  a  soldier,  and  coming 
to  the  chief  magistracy  upon  the  reputation  he  had  won  as  a  leader  of 
armies,  no  President,  not  even  Washington  himself,  has  manifested  greater 
solicitude  to  manage  our  national  affairs  in  the  interests  of  peace  with  all 
the  world. 

We  meet  this  evening  to  pay  our  respects  to  a  member  of  the  royal  famil  v 
of  Russia;  and  we  greet  him,  not  as  a  prince  merely,  but  as  a  man;  not  as 
an  official  representative  of  the  Russian  government,  but  as  the  son  of  the 
chief  executive  and  head  of  a  great  nation  which  felt  and  showed  warm 
sympathy  for  us  in  the  greatest  of  our  national  trials.  A  mere  diplomatic 
occasion  means  something  or  nothing,  as  the  case  maybe,  but  this  unofficial 
visit,  this  social  journey  of  our  distinguished  guest,  is,  let  us  hope,  an  in 
dication  of  the  continued  good  feeling  existing  on  the  part  of  Russia  toward 
the  people  of  the  United  States. 

In  the  situation  of  Russia  and  America  there  is  much  to  draw  us  into 
international  sympathy.  The  forms  of  government  are  totally  different. 
But  mere  form  of  government  is  not  so  material  as  the  manner  of  practical 
administration.  A  government  which  embodies  all  the  elements  and  at 
tributes  of  absolute  sovereignty  may  be  carried  on  with  a  spirit  of  liberality 
which  will  make  it  a  blessing  to  the  people;  and  free  institutions  in  un 
worthy  hands  may  be  perverted  to  the  worst  ends  of  tyranny  and  oppres 
sion.  The  progress  of  liberal  sentiments,  the  emancipation  of  serfdom, 
and  other  great  reformations,  in  Russia,  have  commanded  the  admiration 
of  the  world  and  covered  the  present  reigning  dynasty  with  immortal  re 
nown.  Both  nations  are  young  and  have  a  future.  While  England  is 
decaying  and  France  distracted,  and  revolutions  threatening  to  wipe  away 
everything  established  in  either  country,  and  while  it  yet  remains  to  be  seen 
what  will  result,  blessing  or  evil,  from  the  consolidation  of  the  German 
states  in  the  iron  grasp  of  Prussia,  Russia  stands  out  before  the  world,  full 
of  strength  and  resources  of  youth,  and  is  just  entering  upon  the  great 
destiny  Providence  seems  to  have  designed  for  her.  In  the  immediate 
future  the  preponderance  of  Russia  in  the  councils  of  Europe  seems  to  be 
certain.  Our  own  country  presents,  on  this  continent,  much  the  same 


DEATH  OF  REVERDY  JOHNSON.  499 

aspects.  Slavery  is  abolished;  rebellion,  which  threatened  the  life  of  the 
nation,  is  crushed;  and  the  future  supremacy  of  our  country  on  this  con 
tinent  is  as  clear  as  any  fact  which  rests  in  the  future  for  its  verification 
can  be. 

These  two  great  nations  —  nations  rejoicing  in  the  strength  and  power  of 
youth,  with  splendid  opportunities  before  them  —  ought  to  be  friends.  In 
this  idea,  the  friendship  of  two  nations  thus  situated,  how  much  of  blessing 
for  mankind  is  embodied. 

The  loves  and  friendships  of  individuals  partake  of  the  frail  character  of 
human  life;  are  brief  and  uncertain.  The  experience  of  a  human  life  may 
be  shortly  summed  up:  A  little  loving  and  a  good  deal  of  sorrowing; 
some  bright  hopes  and  many  bitter  disappointments;  some  gorgeous  Thurs 
days,  when  the  skies  are  bright  and  the  heavens  blue,  when  Providence, 
bending  over  us  in  blessings,  glads  the  heart  almost  to  madness;  many 
dismal  Fridays,  when  the  smoke  of  torment  beclouds  the  mind  and  undy 
ing  sorrows  gnaw  upon  the  heart;  some  high  ambitions  and  many  Waterloo 
defeats,  until  the  heart  becomes  like  a  charnel  house  filled  with  dead 
affections  embalmed  in  holy  but  sorrowful  memories;  and  then  the  "silver 
chord  is  loosed,"  the  "golden  bowl  is  broken,"  the  individual  life  —  a  cloud, 
a  vapor,  passeth  away. 

But  speaking  relatively,  a  nation  may  count  upon  immortality  upon 
earth.  Individuals  rise  and  fall,  generations  come  and  go;  but  still  the 
national  unity  is  preserved,  and  a  government  constructed  wisely  with 
reference  to  the  situation  and  wants  of  a  nation  may  exist  for  centuries. 
Friendship  between  two  nations  may  become  a  deeply  cherished  and 
hereditary  principle,  and  two  great  nations,  like  America  and  Russia,  may 
walk  hand  in  hand  through  the  brilliant  career  opened  before  them,  and  the 
blessings  of  brotherhood  and  peace  reach  countless  generations. 

God  grant  that  such  may  be  the  relations  between  these  two  greatest 
among  the  nations  forever. 

Carpenter's  description  of  mortal  frailties,  as  uttered  in 
this  response,  has  from  that  hour  continued  an  uninterrupted 
round  in  the  current  literature  of  the  day  as  a  matchless 
gem  of  impromptu  eloquence  and  divine  word-painting. 

DEATH  OF  REVERDY  JOHNSON. 

The  bar  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States  met 
Friday,  February  18,  1876,  to  pay  respect  to  the  memory  of 
Reverdy  Johnson.  Carpenter  was  appointed  chairman,  and 
on  taking  the  chair  addressed  the  meeting: 

GENTLEMEN:  —  We  have  met  to  express  our  sorrow  at  the  death  of  Rev 
erdy  Johnson,  who  long  ago  was  attorney-general  of  the  United  States, 


500  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

and  who,  amid  the  cares  and  responsibilities  of  many  high  political  stations, 
at  home  and  abroad,  never  abandoned  the  practice  of  his  profession.  For 
more  than  fifty  years  he  steadily  advanced  in  professional  reputation,  and 
came  at  length  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  leaders  of  this  bar. 

Considering  the  extent  and  variety  of  his  practice ;  his  natural  resources 
and  professional  attainments;  his  thorough  self-possession  and  steadiness 
of  nerve  when  the  skill  of  an  opponent  unexpectedly  brought  on  the 
crisis  of  a  great  trial, — an  opportunity  for  feeble  men  to  lose  first  them 
selves  and  then  their  cause ;  his  fidelity  to  the  oath  which  was  anciently 
administered  to  all  the  lawyers  of  England,  to  present  nothing  false,  but 
to  make  war  for  their  clients ;  the  audacity  of  his  valor  when  the  fate  of 
his  client  was  trembling  in  the  balance, —  he  believing  his  client  to  be 
right,  while  every  one  else  believed  him  to  be  wrong;  —  remembering  all 
these  traits,  we  must  rank  him  with  the  greatest  lawyers  and  advocates  of 
this  or  any  other  country.  *  *  * 

I  should  do  violence  to  my  feelings  if  I  did  not  say  one  thing  more. 
I  loved  that  old  man.  When  I  came  first  here,  with  the  trembling  in 
spired  by  the  glorious  memories  of  this  court,  over  which  John  Marshall 
so  long  presided,  Mr.  Johnson  took  me  by  the  hand,  gave  me  fatherly 
recognition,  became  my  adviser,  and  ever  after  remained  my  friend.  For 
all  his  kindness,  professional  and  social,  I  would  be  less  than  a  man  did  I 
not  cherish  the  profoundest  gratitude. 

Five  years  later,  when  the  bar  of  tfte  supreme  court  met 
to  pronounce  eulogiums  on  Carpenter,  the  foregoing  was 
quoted  as  a  just  description  of  Carpenter  himself. 

HIDDEN  BLESSINGS. 

In  September,  1878,  when  the  people  of  the  south  were 
perishing  before  the  yellow-fever  scourge  like  stubble  in  a 
furnace,  the  good  citizens  of  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis.,  held  a 
charity  concert  for  the  benefit  of  their  stricken  fellow-men. 
Carpenter,  who  was  trying  an  important  lawsuit  in  that  city, 
was  invited  to  speak,  and,  although  ill  and  weary,  complied 
with  the  request. 

Walking  to  the  hall  in  an  apparently  moody  spirit,  he  en 
tered  and  took  a  seat  on  the  stage.  As  other  features  of  the 
programme  were  to  precede  his  appearance,  he  retired  be 
hind  the  scenery.  There  he  found  a  Bible,  which,  purely 
by  chance,  he  opened  at  the  Gospel  of  Matthew.  Up  to 
that  moment  he  had  been  undecided  as  to  what  he  should 


HIDDEN   BLESSINGS.  5OI 

say.  But  the  apostle's  words  gave  him  inspiration,  and, 
after  some  introductory  remarks,  holding  the  Bible  in  his 
hand,  he  said: 

These  woes  have  their  hidden  blessings,  and  these  clouds  of  sorrow  their 
silver  lining.  When  we  touch  the  problems  of  life  by  the  magic  of  science, 
conquering  as  we  go,  and  in  all  things  are  elevated  by  success  until  a  man 
feels  like  a  god,  we  are  brought  back  by  some  stroke  at  our  idols,  some 
blow  within  our  household,  some  draught  upon  our  love,  to  our  own  true 
nature.  These  withering  scourges,  these  blighting  calamities,  mollify  our 
natures,  increase  our  generosity,  and  soften  our  hearts.  Those  who  passed 
through  our  late  civil  war  never  can  have  its  images  swept  from  their 
minds.  Everybody  had  a  husband,  friend,  brother,  father,  son,  or  lover 
before  the  cannon's  mouth,  and  everybody  wished  to  know  whether  it  went 
well  with  them.  Accordingly,  they  read  the  newspapers,  and  during  that 
terrible  struggle  newspaper  reading  increased  fifty  per  cent.  This  made  us 
more  intelligent;  and  intelligence  means  everything  that  is  good  —  larger 
sympathy,  greater  love,  freer  charity. 

Once  when  Napoleon  was  pressing  a  terrible  battle,  a  favorite  officer  fell 
mangled  and  dying.  The  great  general  ceased  the  firing,  and,  kneeling 
over  his  dying  comrade  for  hours,  until  his  spirit  had  left  its  crushed  and 
suffering  prison,  wept,  and  watched,  and  prayed.  I  have  often  thought 
that  perhaps  this  little  incident  saved  an  army  from  destruction,  or  a  gov 
ernment  from  dissolution.  And  so  may  this  terrible  pestilence  have  its  bene 
fits  —  it  already  has  them,  in  opening  our  hearts,  our  love  and  our  sympathies. 

Here  he  brought  the  Bible  before  him  just  as  he  at  first 
opened  it,  and  read  with  fine  effect  a  portion  of  the  twenty- 
fifth  chapter  of  Matthew,  beginning  with  the  thirty-first 
verse.  The  grand  words  were  never  more  touchingly  and 
eloquently  rendered.  He  then  closed: 

There  has  been  no  student  of  theology  since  Christ's  time  who  has  not 
longed  to  have  followed  the  Son  of  Man  through  all  his  weary  wanderings, 
that  he  might  have  listened  to  his  teachings  in  the  wilderness,  or  as  he 
rested  beneath  the  fig-tree  shade  at  noontide,  heard  the  honeyed  words  fall 
from  his  own  lips ;  but  I  assert  upon  the  authority  of  this  text,  that  the  Son 
of  Man  is  here  on  earth  now,  and  that  you  are  giving  him  bounteously  of 
your  love  and  worship  when  vou  open  your  hearts  to  the  stricken  sufferers 
at  Memphis  and  New  Orleans.  And  you  shall  have  your  reward.  "  Verily, 
I  say  unto  you,  inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  the  least  of  these,  my 
brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me." 

Carpenter's  sermon  —  a  veritable  sermon  it  was  —  occu 
pied  thirty  minutes.  At  its  conclusion  there  was  not  a  dry 
eye  or  an  uncharitable  heart  in  the  house. 


5°2  LIFE    OF    gARPENTER. 

CHAPTER  XLIV. 

IMPARTIAL  SUFFRAGE. 

Carpenter  was  a  believer  in  the  righteousness  of  equal 
suffrage.  How  or  when  he  was  converted  to  the  doctrine, 
or  whether  he  always  held  it  as  one  of  his  political  tenets, 
can  not  be  stated;  but  his  first  public  avowal  of  it  was  dur 
ing  a  great  mass-meeting  in  the  Academy  of  Music  at  Mil 
waukee,  October  4,  1866.  He  was  closing  a  lofty  appeal 
for  "  impartial  suffrage,  without  regard  to  color,  nationality 
or  previous  condition,"  when  a  person  in  the  assemblage 
queried,  "  Does  that  include  the  women  ?  "  Instantly,  in  a 
still  louder,  clearer  voice,  he  replied :  "  Yes.  I  always  in 
clude  the  women  in  my  pleas  for  impartial  suffrage,  and  I 
always  shall."  This  was  greeted  with  thunders  of  applause, 
for  at  that  time  suffrage  was  the  great  question  of  the  hour, 
and  the  popular  impression  was  that  women  were  as  well 
qualified  to  vote  as  the  Negroes.1 

In  the  extended  debate  on  the  bill  to  amend  the  naturali 
zation  laws,  Senator  Williams,  of  Oregon,  moved  an  amend 
ment  providing  that  "  nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  construed 
to  authorize  the  naturalization  of  persons  born  in  the  Chinese 
Empire,  or  persons  of  the  Negro  race  of  foreign  birth." 
This  was  opposed  by  Carpenter  upon  various  grounds  with 
force  and  eloquence,  and  during  his  speech,  in  answer  to  an 
inquiry  from  Senator  Thurman,  of  Ohio,  he  proclaimed  r  "  I 
am  happy  to  inform  the  senator  that  I  am  in  favor  of  citizen 
suffrage  without  distinction  of  sex,  color  or  birthplace." 

EQUAL  SUFFRAGE  PREDICTED. 

Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  invited  Carpenter  to  be  present 
and  make  an  address  at  a  women's  suffrage  convention  held 
at  Washington  in  January,  1870.  He  answered: 

1  Carpenter's  arguments  favoring  these  privileges  for  Negroes  and  China 
men  have  appeared  with  sufficient  clearness  elsewhere. 


503 

WASHINGTON,  January  19. 
MRS.  ELIZABETH  CADY  STANTON: 

Madam  —  Your  favor  of  the  iSth  instant,  inviting  me  to  address  the 
convention  now  in  session  in  this  city  for  the  promotion  of  the  cause  of 
female  suffrage,  has  been  received.  I  regret  that  my  official  duties  will 
not  allow  me  the  time  to  comply  with  this  request,  but  I  assure  you  and 
the  ladies  with  whom  you  are  associated  that  I  am  heartily  in  sympathy 
with  the  efforts  you  are  making  for  the  success  of  the  cause  which  you,  es 
pecially,  have  so  long  and  so  ably  advocated. 

I  beg  further  to  say  that  the  bestowal  of  the  right  of  equal  political  suf 
frage  upon  the  women  of  this  republic  can  not,  in  my  judgment,  be  much 
longer  withheld,  and  that  whatever  influence  I  have  shall  be  exerted  at 
every  proper  opportunity  to  hasten  the  consummation  for  which  you  are 

laboring. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  very  truly  yours, 

MATT.  H.  CARPENTER. 
MYRA  BRADWELL'S  CASE. 

Myra  Bradwell,  a  femme  covert r,  a  lady  of  fine  attainments 
and  a  citizen  of  Illinois,  applied  for  admission  to  practice  at 
the  bar  of  the  supreme  court  of  that  state.  The  court  re 
fused  to  admit  her,  and  thereupon  a  writ  of  error  carried  the 
proceedings  of  the  Illinois  court  to  the  United  States  supreme 
court  for  review.  Carpenter  made  the  argument  for  Mrs. 
Bradwell  at  the  December  term,  1871.  As  an  obiter  dictum 
he  discussed  the  problem  of  female  suffrage,  and  that  discus 
sion  only  can  properly  have  attention  at  this  point.  He 
said: 

The  great  problem  of  female  suffrage,  the  solution  of  which  lies  in  our 
immediate  future,  naturally  enough,  from  its  transcendent  importance, 
draws  to  itself  in  prejudiced  minds  every  question  relating  to  the  civil  rights 
of  women,  and  it  seems  to  be  feared  that  doing  justice  to  women's  rights 
in  any  particular  would  probably  be  followed  by  the  establishment  of  the 
right  of  female  suffrage,  which,  it  is  assumed,  would  overthrow  Christianity, 
defeat  the  ends  of  modern  civilization,  and  upturn  the  world.  While  I  do 
not  believe  that  female  suffrage  has  been  secured  by  the  amendments  to 
the  constitution,  I  do  not  look  upon  that  result  as  at  all  to  be  dreaded. 
*  *  *  Commencing  with  the  barbarism  of  the  far  east,  and  journeying 
through  the  nations  to  the  bright  light  of  civilization  in  the  west,  it  will 
everywhere  be  found  that  just  in  proportion  of  the  equality  of  women  with 
men  in  the  enjoyment  of  social  and  civil  rights  and  privileges,  both  sexes 
are  advanced  in  refinement  and  all  that  ennobles  human  nature. 


504  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

In  our  own  country,  where  women  are  received  on  an  equality  with  men, 
we  find  good  manners  and  good  order  prevailing.  Because  women  fre 
quent  railroad  cars  and  steamboats,  markets,  shops  and  postoffices,  those 
places  must  be  and  are  conducted  with  order  and  decency.  The  only  great 
resorts  from  which  woman  is  excluded  by  law  are  the  election  places,  and 
the  violence,  rowdyism,  profanity  and  obscenity  of  the  gatherings  there  in 
our  largest  cities  are  sufficient  to  drive  decent  men  even  away  from  the 
polls.  *  *  *  I  have  more  faith  in  female  suffrage  to  reform  the  abuses 
of  our  election  system  in  the  l&rge  cities  than  I  have  in  the  penal  election 
laws  to  be  enforced  by  soldiers  and  marines. 

THE  FIFTEENTH  AMENDMENT. 

Carpenter's  several  reports  on  the  petitions  and  demands 
of  women  for  the  privileges  of  suffrage  throughout  the 
Union  are  interesting.  He  had  under  consideration,  in  Jan 
uary,  1872,  "the  memorial  of  Elizabeth'  Cady  Stanton,  Isa 
bella  Beecher  Hooker,  Elizabeth  S.  Bladen,  Olympia  Brown, 
Susan  B.  Anthony  and  Josephine  J.  Griffing,  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  praying  for  the  enactment  of  a  law,  during 
the  current  session  of  congress,  to  assist  and  protect  them  in 
the  exercise  of  their  right,  and  the  right  of  all  women,  to 
participate  in  the  elective  franchise,  which  the  memorialists 
claim  they  are  entitled  to  under  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States,  together  with  various  other  petitions  and 
memorials  to  the  same  effect,  and  various  protests  in  oppo 
sition  thereto." 

He  reported  that  he  had  not  discussed  the  broad  principle 
as  to  whether  the  federal  constitution  should  be  so  amended 
as  to  give  all  female  citizens  the  right  of  suffrage,  but  that 
the  fourteenth  amendment  "must  be  regarded  as  recognizing 
the  right  of  every  state  und^r  the  constitution,  as  it  previously 
stood,  to  deny  or  abridge  the  right  of  a  citizen  to  vote  on 
any  account,  in  the  pleasure  of  such  state ;  and  by  the  fif 
teenth  amendment  the  right  of  states  in  this  respect  is  only 
so  far  restricted  that  no  state  can  base  such  exclusion  upon 
'race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude.'  With  this 
single  exception  —  race,  color,  and  previous  condition  of  serv 
itude —  the  power  of  a  state  to  make  such  exclusion  is  left 


SUSAN   B.  ANTHONY   ARRESTED.  505 

untouched,  and,  indeed,  is  actually  recognized  by  the  fifteenth 
amendment  as  existing."  Which  means  that  every  state  is 
left  free  to  admit  or  exclude  women  from  the  privileges  of 
voting. 

SUSAN  B.  ANTHONY  ARRESTED. 

At  the  presidential  election  of  1872  Susan  B.  Anthony 
asked,  as  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  and  an  inhabitant  of 
Rochester,  New  York,  to  have  her  name  registered.  She 
was  accordingly  registered,  and  on  election  day  was  per 
mitted  to  deposit  her  ballot  with  other  citizens.  Immediately 
afterward  she  was  indicted  by  the  grand  jury  for  having 
"  knowingly  voted  without  having  a  lawful  right  to  vote." 
She  had  a  trial,  technically,  before  a  jury  (as  the  law  directs) 
and  Ward  Hunt,  associate  justice  of  the  United  States  su 
preme  court;  but  the  judge  refused  to  submit  the  case  to  the 
jury  in  any  form  and  directed  a  verdict  of  guilty.  She  was 
fined  $100  and  costs,  and  thereupon  petitioned  congress  to 
remit  the  punishment. 

The  majority  report  of  the  senate  committee  was  that 
congress  had  no  power  to  remit  the  fine,  but  Carpenter  sub 
mitted  (January  20,  1874)  ^e  "views"  of  the  minority,  in 
which,  by  numerous  authorities,  he  showed  that  Justice  Hunt 
had  no  rightful  power  to  suspend  the  prerogatives  of  a  jury 
in  a  criminal  case  and  compel  a  verdict  of  guilty.  He  said: 

Unfortunately  the  United  States  have  no  "  well-ordered  system  of  juris 
prudence."  A  citizen  may  be  tried,  condemned  and  put  to  death  by  the 
erroneous  judgment  of  a  single  inferior  judge,  and  no  court  can  grant 
him  relief  or  a  new  trial.  If  a  citizen  have  a  cause  involving  the  title  to 
his  farm,  if  it  exceed  $2,000 1  in  value,  he  may  bring  his  case  to  the 
supreme  court;  but  if  it  involves  his  liberty  or  his  life  he  can  not.  While 
•we  permit  this  blemish  to  exist  on  our  judicial  system,  it  behooves  us  to 
watch  carefully  the  judgments  inferior  courts  may  render;  and  it  is  doubly 
important  that  we  should  see  to  it  that  twelve  jurors  shall  concur  with 
the  judge  before  a  citizen  shall  be  hanged,  incarcerated,  or  otherwise 
punished. 

I  concur  with  the  majority  of  the  committee  that  congress  can  not 
grant  the  precise  relief  prayed  for  in  the  memorial ;  but  I  deem  it  to  be 

1  Since  increased  to  $5,000. 


506  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

the  duty  of  congress  to  declare  its  disapproval  of  the  doctrine  asserted, 
and  the  course  pursued,  in  the  trial  of  Miss  Anthony;  and  all  the  more  for 
the  reason  that  no  judicial  court  has  jurisdiction  to  review  the  proceedings 
therein. 

He  thus  rebuked  the  court  and  the  senate: 

It  is  fashionable,  we  know,  just  now,  to  heap  contumely  upon  women 
who  demand  to  be  allowed  to  enjoy  their  civil  political  rights.  Ridicule  is 
the  chief  weapon  employed  against  them,  and  is  freely  applied  to  all  who 
advocate  their  cause.  Gentlemen  who  would  blush  to  be  thought  negli 
gent  in  the  offices  of  frivolous  gallantry  lack  the  manhood  to  accord  to 
women  their  substantial  rights.  And,  strange  to  say,  ladies,  dwelling  in 
luxurious  ease,  join  with  the  fops  of  society  to  cast  contempt  upon  the 
earnest  aspirations  of  woman  for  the  possession  of  her  just  rights.  We 
have  acted  upon  the  doctrines  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  so  far  as 
to  make  all  men  equal  before  the  law;  but  -women,  our  mothers,  our  wives, 
our  sisters,  and  our  daughters,  we  condemn  to  inequality  —  many  to  servi 
tude.  But  the  cry  of  women,  who,  in  poverty  and  want,  are  driven  from 
the  employments  of  honest  industry  to  indulgence  in  vice  and  to  the  haunts 
of  shame,  is  rising  on  every  hand,  and  appeals  to  the  heart  with  as  much 
power  as  the  waitings  of  a  slave  beneath  the  lash  of  his  master. 

The  wrongs  of  Martin  Koszta  in  a  foreign  land  touched  the  heart  of  the 
nation.  But  the  denial  of  her  rights  to  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  in  a  court 
of  the  Union  is  thought  to  be  unworthy  the  attention  of  the  American 
senate. 

To  those  who  are  indifferent  whether  a  woman  be  deprived  of,  or  be  per 
mitted  to  enjoy,  even  the  rights  which  are  secured  to  her  by  the  constitu 
tion,  it  may  be  suggested  that  a  bad  precedent  set  in  the  trial  of  a  woman 
who  has  presumed  to  express  her  choice  as  to  those  who  should  make  laws 
for  her,  laws  by  which  her  rights  are  to  be  affected  and  ner  property  be 
taxed,  may  stand  in  the  way  of  some  man's  rights  hereafter.  It  may  yet 
happen,  in  the  revolutions  of  time,  that  some  one  of  the  majority  of  your 
committee  may  be  subjected  to  an  unjust  and  false  accusation,  which  must 
be  submitted  to  the  judgment  of  twelve  men  in  the  jury-box  or  of  one  man 
on  the  bench;  twelve  men  fresh  from  the  people  and  warmed  with  the  in 
stinctive  sympathies  of  humanity,  or  one  man,  separated  from  the  people 
by  his  station  and  by  the  habits  of  a  life  passed  in  seclusion  and  study.  A 
jury-trial  must  be  the  same  whether  a  man  or  a  woman  be  arraigned.  And 
the  subject  under  consideration  is  important  even  to  men,  who  are  regard 
less  of  the  rights  of  women. 

A  PLEA  IN  THE  SENATE. 

In  1874,  during  the  pendency  in  congress  of  a  bill  to  create 
out  of  the  territory  of  Dakota  the  territory  of  Pembina,  while 


GOD'S   GREAT   CONGREGATION.  507 

discussing  the  qualifications  of  citizenship  for  the  proposed 
new  division,  Carpenter  said: 

Mr.  President,  as  the  yeas  and  nays  have  been  ordered  on  this  question, 
and  I  shall  vote  for  this  amendment,  without  going  into  any  argument  of 
the  general  question,  I  desire  to  say  one  word  as  to  the  reason  why  I  shall 
so  vote. 

I  believe  it  is  not  one  of  woman's  rights,  but  it  is  one  of  man's,  that  the 
franchise  should  be  extended  to  women.  I  believe  there  is  no  situation  in 
which  man  can  be  placed  where  the  aid  of  woman  is  not  beneficial;  that  in 
all  the  relations  of  life,  in  all  the  occupations  and  all  the  duties  of  life,  it 
was  the  intention  of  God,  in  creating  the  race,  that  woman  should  be  the 
helpmeet  of  man,  everywhere  and  in  all  circumstances  and  occupations. 
Look  through  your  country,  look  in  your  railroad  cars,  look  in  your  post- 
offices,  look  in  your  dry-goods  stores,  and  there  you  see  everything  decent 
and  orderly  and  quiet.  Why?  Because  women  go  there.  The  only  place 
in  this  country  from  which  they  are  excluded  by  law  is  the  voting  place, 
and  in  many  of  our  large  cities  those  places  are  the  most  disgraceful  that 
can  be  found  under  our  institutions.  Now,  I  believe,  if  the  elections  were 
open  to  women  as  well  as  men,  there  would  be  as  much  order,  quiet  and 
decency  at  the  voting  places  as  there  is  in  a  railroad  car,  and  for  precisely 
the  same  reason.  If  our  wives  and  mothers  and  daughters  were  going  to 
these  election  places,  there  would  be  order  and  decency  there,  or  there 
would  be  a  row  once  for  all  that  would  make  them  decent.  I  have  more 
confidence  in  the  influence  of  women  at  the  elections  in  New  York  city  to 
reform  the  condition  of  things  that  exists  there,  and  bring  about  decency 
and  order  at  the  elections  and  the  prevention  of  violence  and  fraud,  than  I 
have  in  all  the  army  and  navy  that  the  President  can  send  under  the  elec 
tion  bill  which  was  put  through  here  by  my  honorable  friend  from  New 
York  [Mr.  Conkling]. 

Without  enlarging  on  the  subject,  I  shall  vote  for  this  amendment,  not 
because  this  territory  is  located,  as  some  senator  has  said,  near  Minnesota. 
I  would  vote  for  female  suffrage  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  to-morrow;  I 
would  vote  for  it  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin;  I  would  vote  for  it  anywhere 
and  everywhere,  if  I  had  an  opportunity  to  do  so. 

GOD'S  GREAT  CONGREGATION. 

It  is  difficult  to  satisfactorily  account  for  the  admiration  and 
love  of  the  Irish  everywhere  for  Carpenter,  and  their  enthusi 
astic  allegiance  to  his  political  fortunes.  They  believed  he 
was  poor  —  that  created  a  bond  of  sympathy;  they  knew  he 
was  an  orator  —  that  carried  them  wherever  he  went.  Ora- 


508  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

tory  and  poverty  are  to  the  Irishman  what  music  and  maca 
roni  are  to  the  Italian. 

In  early  years  he  was  a  democrat,  and  as  such,  during  polit 
ical  campaigns,  came  in  frequent  contact  with  the  Irish,  who 
are  nearly  all  democrats.  Having  thus  become  acquainted 
with  him,  they  went  from  far  and  near  to  secure  his  services 
and  advice  in  their  petty  troubles  and  litigations.  He  never 
failed  to  respond,  though  he  often  failed  to  receive  a  fee.  But 
this  was  not  considered  —  he  continued  to  keep  them  all  for 
his  clients,  and  thus  became  very  popular  throughout  Rock 
county  with  that  nationality.  Years  after,  when  he  was  a 
senator,  a  load  of  Rock  county  Irish  farmers  drove,  in  har 
vest  time,  a  distance  of  twenty-five  miles  to  hear  him  make 
a  political  speech.  When  they  arrived  at  the  place  the  hour 
was  late  and  the  room  was  full  to  overflowing.  But  the 
jolly  Irishmen  had  driven  too  far  to  be  thwarted  by  ordinary 
means,  so  they  climbed  up  the  outside  to  the  windows. 
There  they  sat  and  listened,  like  quails  on  a  fence,  cheering 
all  his  eloquent  passages,  though  the  speech  was  republican 
and  they  were  democrats. 

This  early  love  spread  to  all  portions  of  the  state,  and 
became  more  strong  and  prominent  in  Milwaukee  than  any 
where  else.  When  riding  in  his  carriage  with  distinguished 
guests  or  the  members  of  his  family,  he  would  always  greet, 
in  a  frank  and  hearty  manner,  or,  if  occasion  required,  stop 
and  speak  with  the  commonest  clod-hopper  in  the  city.  He 
was,  therefore,  among  the  Irish,  the  best-known  and  most 
popular  man  in  the  community.  They  all  knew  him  and 
spoke  of  him  as  "  Matt." 

In  1874,  wnen  the  election  that  was  to  send  him  or  his  suc 
cessor  to  the  United  States  senate  was  held,  the  Third  ward 
of  Milwaukee,  generally  safe  for  from  three  hundred  and 
fifty  to  six  hundred  majority,  gave  Kershaw,  the  republican 
legislative  candidate,  over  four  hundred  majority  because  he 
was  "  a  Carpenter  man."  Although  Carpenter  was  defeated, 
when  he  returned  to  Milwaukee  the  Irish  turned  out  en  masse 


5°9 

to  express  their  sympathy  and  indignation,  and  in  his  speech 
in  the  Academy  of  Music  he  said: 

One  thing  is  so  specially  gratifying  to  me  that  I  must  make  particular 
mention  of  it  The  Third  ward  of  Milwaukee,  which  is  good  for  five  hun 
dred  democratic  majority  under  ordinary  circumstances,  last  fall  elected 
Colonel  Kershaw,  one  of  my  republican  friends,  by  over  four  hundred  ma 
jority.  I  must  be  dead  indeed  to  every  impulse  of  gratitude  and  every 
sentiment  of  manhood  before  I  can  forget  my  obligation  to  the  Irishmen 
of  Milwaukee.  We  shall  have  no  temptation  to  separate  hereafter;  there 
is  one  bond  that  will  bind  us  forever  together ;  they  and  I  belong  to  God's 
great  congregation  —  the  poor.  And  if,  in  the  changing  fortunes  of  the 
future,  I  should  ever  find  it  in  my  power  to  aid  an  Irishman,  I  will  think 
of  my  obligations  to  the  Third  ward,  and  hasten  to  his  relief. 

In  a  similar  speech  at  another  time  he  alluded  to  one  of  his 
early  experiences  in  Vermont.  While  trudging  along  a  hot, 
dusty  road,  weary  and  foot-sore,  he  gave  out  and  was  com 
pelled  to  sit  down  upon  a  bowlder  by  the  roadside.  Although 
a  boy  with  a  stout  heart,  his  journey  was  long  and  he  was 
almost  discouraged.  Several  times  he  was  refused  a  "  lift  " 
by  the  drivers  of  passing  vehicles.  Finally  a  loud,  cheery 
voice  roused  him  from  meditation,  and  a  jolly  Irishman  took 
him  in  and  drove  him  to  his  destination.  "  Ever  since  that 
day,"  said  he,  "  I  have  had  a  warm  corner  in  my  heart  for 
an  Irishman."1 

At  the  primaries  held  for  choosing  delegates  to  the  national 
convention  of  1876,  the  Irish  of  several  precincts  adopted 
resolutions  favoring  the  nomination  of  Carpenter  for  Presi 
dent,  and  when,  in  1878,  he  was  again  a  candidate  for  the 
senate,  the  Irish  rallied  to  his  support  and  insured  the  election 
of  Carpenter  republicans  in  several  democratic  districts. 

In  1881,  after  his  death,  when  the  citizens  of  Wisconsin 
proposed  to  erect  a  monument  to  his  memory,  an  Irishman 
of  the  Third  ward  of  Milwaukee  was  first  to  appear  with  a 
dollar  in  his  calloused  palm  as  his  contribution  to  the  memo 
rial  fund. 

1  His  childhood  love  for  Johnny  Eagan  may  now  be  recalled. 


510  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

A  MAN  OF  THE  PEOPLE. 

Carpenter  was  pre-eminently  a  man  of  the  people.  He 
mingled  freely  and  naturally  with  the  multitude,  and  always 
taught  that  there  could  be  no  class-distinction  in  a  republic 
save  that  of  respectability. 

In  all  controversies  between  the  people  and  the  government, 
between  the  people  and  the  aggressions  of  capital,  monopoly 
or  judicial  usurpation,  he  invariably  espoused  the  cause  of 
the  masses  openly,  boldly  and  effectively.  This  was  not  a 
matter  of  policy  but  of  sincerity.  He  knew  he  was  right, 
and  he  knew,  too,  that  to  espouse  the  right  as  against  banded 
corporations  would  entail  upon  him  heavy  pecuniary  loss; 
nevertheless  the  principle  was  announced  and  supported  un 
falteringly  to  fruition. 

Nobody  loved  better  or  oftener  sought  the  society  of  states 
men,  scholars,  jurists  and  individuals  of  refinement;  yet  this 
love  had  no  restraining  influence  whatever  upon  the  perfect 
freedom  of  his  intercourse  with  all  classes.  An  old  philoso 
pher  who  had  fondly  watched  Carpenter's  upward  course, 
bears  witness:  "I  have  noticed  for  years  that  no  matter  how 
far  forward  he  went  in  public  esteem,  or  what  prominence 
he  gained,  he  retained  his  old  manner  of  talking  to  old 
friends,  and  did  not  forget  any,  no  matter  how  humble." 

No  one  ever  entered  Carpenter's  presence,  no  matter  how 
trivial  the  errand  upon  which  he  came  or  how  lowly  his 
position,  without  being  made  at  once  to  feel  perfectly  at  home. 
His  own  business  was  laid  aside  as  though  an  honor  had 
been  conferred  upon  him  by  the  call,  and  for  the  time  he 
placed  himself  at  the  service  of  the  visitor,  who  at  the  close 
of  the  interview  invariably  left  a  firm,  fast  friend. 

He  addressed  all  his  intimate  friends  and  acquaintances  by 
their  Christian  names,  and  they  in  turn  knew  him,  like  all 
the  world,  as  "  Matt."  Although  his  duties  in  the  senate 
and  his  law  practice  in  Washington  for  a  dozen  years  pre- 


A   MAN   OF   THE   PEOPLE.  51 1 

vented  spending  any  large  part  of  his  time  in  Milwaukee, 
personal  friendships  were  kept  warm,  and  men  who  abhor 
politics  were  always  ready  to  enter  into  campaigns  for 
"  Matt."  In  fact,  the  political  rallies  in  Milwaukee  in  his  be 
half  were  nothing  less  than  ovations. 

O 

After  every  popular  address  he  was  in  the  habit  of  re 
pairing  to  a  public  house,  where,  throwing  open  the  doors, 
he  received  and  shook  hands  with  the  people  with  a  freedom 
and  cordiality  that  to  them  was  little  short  of  fascinating. 

During  his  second  senatorial  campaign  the  managers  of 
the  Green  county  fair  engaged  Carpenter  to  deliver  the  an 
nual  address.  Washburn  was  also  a  candidate  for  the  sen 
ate  at  that  time,  and  his  friends  joined  with  the  democracy 
in  crying  that  the  fair  had  been  turned  into  a  "  Carpenter 
campaign-meeting."  The  clamor  became  so  intense  as  to 
threaten  the  success  of  the  fair,  and  when  Carpenter  ap 
peared  the  address  was  begun  without  an  audience  worthy 
of  mention.  As  he  proceeded,  however,  listeners  began  to 
gather  around  him,  and  before  the  end,  as  the  local  journal 
declared,  he  "  captured  the  crowd." 

But  the  people,  turning  their  anger  into  enthusiasm,  were 
not  satisfied.  They  demanded  he  should  give  them  a  politi 
cal  address  in  the  evening,  which  he  did  to  an  immense  au 
dience  in  Turner  Hall,  at  Monroe.  When  he  entered  the 
place  it  was  a  "  Washburn  hot-bed,"  but  he  left  it  full  of 
warm  and  steadfast  personal  and  many  political  friends. 

Although  long  research  had  established  his  line  of  descent 
from  an  ancient  and  gentle  English  family,  Carpenter  never 
referred  to  his  genealogy,  and  even  refused  to  wear  a  beauti 
ful  ring  on  which  was  cut  a  signet  of  the  Carpenter  coat- 
armor,  although  the  token  had  been  presented  by  a  near  and 
dear  friend.  He  despised  all  the  artificial  devices  resorted 
to  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  false  elevation  "  above  the 
common  herd "  as  evidences  of  shallowness  and  weakness. 
Whenever  he  observed  the  mere  possessors  of  wealth 
flaunting  the  coat-armor  of  ancient  nobility  and  establishing 


512  LIFE   OF  CARPENTER. 

for  themselves  a  vulgar  pretense  of  aristocracy,  he  would 
gleefully  quote: 

Of  all  the  notable  things  on  earth, 
The  queerest  one  is  pride  of  birth 

Among  our  '  fierce  democracie.1 
A  bridge  across  a  hundred  years, 
Without  a  prop  to  save  it  from  sneers, 
Not  even  a  couple  of  rotten  peers  — 
A  thing  for  laughter,  fleers  and  jeers, 

Is  American  aristocracy." 

Carpenter  described  Stephen  A.  Douglas  as  "  a  plebeian 
respectably  born  and  an  honored  citizen  of  the  United 
States  —  the  noblest,  proudest  lord  in  Christendom."  This 
description  would  have  applied  with  equal  aptness  to  himself. 
He  was  not  decked  with  the  gairish  emblems  of  artificial 
distinction,  but  was  a  man  of  the  people,  who  "  received  the 
patent  of  nobility  direct  from  Almighty  God"  and  his 
political  elevation  from  the  good  will  of  the  masses. 


USE  AND  LOVE  OF  BOOKS.  513 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

USE  AND  LOVE  OF  BOOKS. 

It  must  have  been  observed,  ere  this,  that  Carpenter  was 
a  great  lover  of  books.  In  the  west  no  private  library  of 
miscellaneous  books  equaled  his  in  extent  and  richness,  and 
his  law  library  was  one  of  the  best  in  the  United  States.  It 
contained  all  the  text-books,  decisions  and  opinions  that  were 
written  in  the  English  language,  all  state  trials,  legislative, 
parliamentary  and  tribunal  proceedings  of  the  old  world, 
and  all  arbitrations,  treaties  and  agreements  between  nations. 

In  the  field  of  general  literature  he  was  equally  compre 
hensive,  having  upon  his  shelves  the  entire  range  of  history, 
biographies  of  all  the  conspicuous  characters  of  civilization, 
the  standard  works  of  science,  philosophy,  finance,  poetry,  fic 
tion,  travel,  navigation,  engineering,  and  hundreds  of  volumes 
of  church  history  and  theology.  In  addition  he  gathered, 
read  and  preserved  briefs,  magazines,  newspapers  and  pam 
phlets  without  number.  In  this  direction  may  be  mentioned 
his  rare  and  complete  collection  of  all  the  briefs,  arguments, 
etc.,  presented  to  the  attention  of  the  United  States  supreme 
court  since  its  organization.  These  were  bound,  and  as  the 
only  other  similar  collection  extant  belonged  to  the  Philadel 
phia  Law  Library,  were  considered  so  valuable  that  after 
his  death  congress  set  aside  $8,000  for  their  purchase  as  an 
addition  to  the  congressional  library. 

In  connection  with  the  books  he  possessed  it  is  proper  to 
refer  to  the  use  he  made  of  them.  He  studied  the  history  of 
civilized  nations  and  of  their  assemblies  and  courts  to  see  by 
what  steps  they  advanced  in  enlightenment,  power  and  hap 
piness,  in  order  to  formulate  the  wisest  policies  for  America; 
he  examined  the  decisions  of  the  world's  courts  in  order  to 
discover  the  purest  principles  of  equity  and  justice ;  he  wan- 
33 


514  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

toned  in  all  the  fields  of  general  literature  in  order  to  enrich 
his  mind,  purify  his  language  and  adorn  his  oratory. 

For  general  purposes  his  favorite  volumes  were  Shakes 
peare  and  the  Bible,  which,  he  said,  were  all  the  library  a 
man  needed.  These  he  read  incessantly.  Although  he 
could  repeat  many  of  Shakespeare's  plays  from  beginning 
to  end,  transforming  his  tone,  facial  expression,  accent,  gest 
ure  and  spirit  to  fit  each  change  of  character,  he  did  not  draw 
so  freely  from  that  source  for  his  public  speeches  as  from  the 
Bible.  He  read  the  myriad-minded  bard  for  his  subtle  phi 
losophy  of  human  nature  and  common  life,  but  the  masses 
did  not  so  fully  appreciate  that  as  they  did  the  simple  grandeur 
of  the  New  Testament  epics.  He  held  that  the  writings 
attributed  to  Shakespeare  were  not  his  unaided  productions; 
yet  curiously  enough,  Stratford,  next  to  the  Holy  Land,  was  a 
place  he  always  longed  to  visit. 

As  has  been  stated,  much  good  literature  became  firmly 
fixed  in  Carpenter's  mind  during  the  period  of  his  blindness; 
but  he  never  prepared  an  address,  and  not'  often  a  legal  argu 
ment,  without  reference  to  the  domains  of  fancy,  philosophy 
and  religion  for  apt  illustrations,  strong  expressions  and  con 
firmatory  conclusions.  Not  only  this,  but  at  social  gatherings, 
in  his  hours  of  recreation  and  for  the  amusement  of  his  friends 
he  read  from  all  the  poets.  On  such  occasions  his  frequent  habit 
was  to  take  the  book  in  hand  and  walk  up  and  down  the  room 
in  order  to  rouse  his  sympathies  to  the  text,  facilitate  gesture 
and  heighten  the  general  effect.  Upon  this  point  one  of  his 
early  law-students  is  corroborative: 

The  most  interesting  experiences  I  can  recall  —  and  I  am  sure  I  shall 
never  forget  them  —  were  those  where,  when  he  was  in  the  mood,  he  would 
walk  the  floor  and  recite  with  a  feeling  and  expression  beyond  comparison 
from  some  of  the  English  poets,  or  when  visited  by  some  brother  senator 
or  legal  acquaintance  of  note  he  would  engage  in  friendly  discussion  upon 
some  national  or  legal  question  until  his  convictions  and  his  earnestness 
would  carry  him  headlong  into  the  most  eloquent  and  pleading  style  of 
speech. 


LOVE    OF   CHILDREN.  515 

At  home  it  was  a  very  common  habit  with  Carpenter  to 
read  aloud  to  his  wife  and  children  from  the  poets  or  the 
Bible.  Sometimes,  in  that  semi-dishabille  which  granted 
the  freedom  he  loved  so  well,  he  would  stretch  himself  upon 
the  sofa  or  carpet,  and  in  that  position  read  for  hours  —  the 
lesser  passages  to  himself,  but  those  which  aptly  expressed 
his  own  sentiments  or  met  a  quick  response  from  the  warm 
and  generous  depths  of  his  heart,  he  uttered  aloud,  fre 
quently  repeating  them  several  times  as  if  to  drink  in  their 
full  meaning  and  fix  the  words  indelibly  upon  his  memory. 

On  some  occasions,  when  working  in  his  library  until  far 
into  the  night,  after  the  entire  household  had  retired  to  rest, 
he  would  lay  aside  his  labors  and  begin  reading  aloud  from 
a  favorite  volume,  with  no  listeners  but  the  walls  of  books 
that  surrounded  him.  Frequently,  at  such  times,  as  he  fell 
upon  passages  of  unusual  strength  or  beauty,  he  would 
mount  the  stairs,  and  sitting  by  the  bedside  of  his  wife,  read 
them  to  her  with  high  dramatic  power  and  unalloyed  enjoy 
ment.  Many  a  time  has  she  been  roused  from  peaceful 
slumber  to  hear  her  husband  recite  a  favorite  chapter  from 
the  Bible  or  choice  passages  of  literature. 

Jonas  M.  Bundy,  heretofore  quoted,  has  written: 

His  liberal  book-buying,  which  some  people  afterward  regarded  rather  as 
a  piece  of  extravagance  than  dictated  by  real  necessity,  I  knew  grew  out  of 
his  habits  of  study,  his  demand  for  the  exact  significance  of  words,  his  de 
sire  to  extend  his  knowledge  of  all  the  forms  of  expression  that  were  created 
by  the  first  order  of  poetic,  philosophic  or  analytic  ability.  No  man  whom 
I  have  known  laid  the  foundations  of  future  power  and  broad  work 
more  thoroughly,  honestly  or  deeply  than  Carpenter.  He  never  was  satis 
fied  with  any  class  of  authorities  or  chain  of  argument  unless  he  felt  sure 
of  the  utmost  attainable  capacity  of  demonstration.  He  was,  all  his  life, 
one  of  the  most  exact,  painfully  critical,  keenly  intuitional  students  of 
words  and  their  meanings  that  I  ever  knew  in  the  legal  or  in  any  other 
profession. 

LOVE  OF  CHILDREN. 

Carpenter's  love  of  children  was  phenomenal.  He  was 
not  simply  passionately  fond  of  his  own,  but  he  loved  them 
all  and  made  friends  with  them  all.  One  of  his  admirers  has 


5l6  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

said  that,  if  it  were  not  known  that  the  great  Teacher  of 
Nazareth  promulgated,  "  Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto 
me,  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven,"  it  might  not  be  unnatural  for  those  who  knew  him 
to  believe  Carpenter  was  the  author  of  that  sublime  injunction. 

Every  parent  has  more  or  less  love  for  his  offspring,  but 
when  a  great  mind,  perplexed  with  the  questions  of  the  day 
and  busy  with  the  duties  of  public  life,  is  attracted  by  every 
child  that  crosses  his  path,  it  is  a  fact  worthy  of  some  remark. 

Once,  as  he  lay  dozing  in  his  library,  suddenly,  as  though 
the  -house  were  on  fire,  Carpenter  sprung  from  his  couch 
and  rushed  up  stairs  to  the  nurseiy.  When  he  returned,  a 
member  of  the  household  asked  what  had  happened  and  he 
replied  that  he  "  thought  he  heard  Paul  cry."  He  could 
soothe  his  children  to  rest  or  sleep  under  any  and  all  circum 
stances,  when  everybody  else  had  failed.  Nature  seemed  to 
have  endowed  him  with  an  instinct  that  knew  just  how  to 
touch  and  handle  a  child,  for  the  most  restless  and  tempestu 
ous  youngster,  in  a  few  moments  after  he  began  to  croon 
the  little  song  of  his  own  which  he  sang  to  every  babe,  set 
tled  into  peace  and  quiet. 

Many  a  time,  while  riding  on  the  cars,  he  has  taken  a  fret 
ting  child  from  the  arms  of  its  mother,  and,  after  walking  a 
few  times  up  and  down  the  aisle  of  the  coach,  carried  the 
little  one  back  hushed  and  asleep,  receiving  the  blessings  of 
the  passengers.  After  1865,  he  traveled  a  great  deal  be 
tween  the  east  and  the  west,  and  instances  of  this  kind  were 
repeated  at  almost  every  journey;  but  it  was  only  now  and 
then,  when  there  chanced  to  be  some  one  on  board  who 
recognized  the  distinguished  public  nurse,  that  the  tired 
mother,  rested  from  her  burden,  or  the  grateful  travelers, 
knew  who  had  exercised  such  a  magic  spell  over  the  crying 
babe.  Here  is  a  letter  to  Walter  S.  Carter,  of  New  York: 

UNITED  STATES  SENATE  CHAMBER, 

WASHINGTON,  June  30,  1872. 

DEAR  CARTER: — While  coming  down  on  the  cars  the  other  day,  or 
evening,  when  it  came  time  to  make  up  berths  in  the  sleeping-car,  a  gen- 


LOVE   OF   CHILDREN.  517 

tleman,  two  ladies  and  a  small  girl  came  and  sat  in  my  section  while  theirs 
was  being  put  in  order.  The  little  girl  was  very  tired  and  sleepy.  She 
sort  'o  took  to  me,  as  all  the  children  do ;  so  I  told  her  to  lie  down  in  my 
arms  and  go  to  sleep,  which  she  did  with  seeming  gratefulness.  We  rode 
in  that  way  some  twenty  miles.  When  they  were  ready  to  go  to  bed,  they 
aroused  the  little  girl,  and  told  her  to  thank  me  and  bid  me  good  night, 
whereupon  I  gave  her  my  card.  They  all  then  went  to  their  section,  but 
presently  returned,  having  read  my  card,  and  asked  if  I  was  "  Senator  Car 
penter."  I  admitted  it.  Did  I  know  Mr.  Walter  S.  Carter?  I  admitted 
that  also.  Then  they  told  me  it  was  your  little  girl  I  had  been  holding. 

Yours,  MATT. 

In  several  cases  like  this,  as  he  afterwards  learned,  he  fell 
in  with  some  of  the  most  distinguished  families  in  the  land, 
beginning  friendships  through  a  child  which  lasted  to  the  end 
of  life;  but  generally  his  kindness  was  toward  some  humble 
woman,  traveling  unattended  with  her  burdens  and  her  chil 
dren,  thus  making  his  attentions  thrice  grateful,  though  she 
could  never  learn  who  had  befriended  her. 

On  the  streets  and  moving  about  the  city  Carpenter  was 
the  same.  If  he  overtook  a  child,  he  would  reach  down  and 
clasp  it  by  the  hand,  leading  it  as  far  as  their  journeys  were 
common,  and  always  gaining  its  confidence  and  friendship. 
He  frequently  —  in  fact  times  without  number  —  led  ragged 
little  urchins  to  a  neighboring  store  and  purchased  a  hat  to 
replace  the  tattered  affair  the  youngster  was  wearing,  or  a 
new  handkerchief,  or  new  shoes  and  stockings,  or  any  article 
that  seemed  to  be  most  needed.  Thus  has  he  sent  home 
hundreds  of  poor  lads  rejoicing  and  wondering  who  the  big 
man  was  that  had  been  so  kind  to  them.  In  such  manner 
nearly  all  the  youngsters  in  Milwaukee  came  to  know  Car 
penter,  and  they  agreed  among  themselves  that  when  they 
should  become  men  they  would  vote  for  him  for  President  or 
whatever  he  desired  to  be. 

A  gentleman  who  once  went  to  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania, 
with  Carpenter,  to  try  a  case  before  the  courts,  relates  an  in 
cident.  They  lodged  at  a  hotel  in  which  all  were  strangers 
to  them.  At  about  midnight  a  babe  began  to  cry  as  though  in 


5l8  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

great  suffering.  Carpenter  arose  from  his  bed  instantly,  and 
after  listening  a  few  moments  to  the  cry  of  distress,  and  no 
ticing  that  it  did  not  diminish,  dressed  himself  and  proceeded 
into  the  hall.  Near  by  he  found  an  open  door  and  a  tired 
nurse  attempting  to  quiet  a  still  more  tired  child,  which  was 
waiting  for  its  mother  to  return  from  a  social  gathering.  He 
took  the  babe  in  his  arms,  sent  the  maid  below  for  food,  and 
began  walking  back  and  forth  in  the  hall,  singing  his  old 
song.  When  the  mother  returned,  which  was  within  half 
an  hour,  he  had  fed  the  babe,  which  was  hungry  as  well  as 
weary,  and  soothed  it  to  sleep.  She  thanked  him  very  gra 
ciously  for  the  novel  kindness,  and  spent  a  large  portion  of 
the  following  day  in  discovering  who  he  was. 

As  to  his  own  children  (Lilian  and  Paul  D.)  he  not  only 
loved  them  with  passionate  tenderness,  but  was  proud  of 
them,  and  had  great  pleasure  in  their  mental  and  physical  ad 
vancement.  During  his  numerous  and  lengthened  absences 
from  home,  in  the  senate  or  before  the  courts,  he  never  failed 
to  write  frequently  to  them,  from  their  earliest  childhood. 
The  babes  could  not  read,  to  be  sure,  but  their  mother  could, 
and  the  letters  were  their  own  "  to  keep."  At  first  Lilian 
and  Paul  transmitted  to  him  some  extraordinary  epistles, 
consisting  of  very  bewildering,  harum-scarum  dashes  and 
scrawls  which  were  supposed  to  mean,  "  Dear  papa:  I  love 
you.  Please  come  home."  Next  they  could  "  print  "  a  few 
words  intelligibly,  and  finally  were  able  to  maintain  cor 
respondence  in  due  form.  Carpenter  gleefully  answered  all 
their  missives,  whether  or  not  he  could  read  them,  and  both 
children  have  sacredly  stowed  away  hundreds  of  precious 
letters  from  their  father,  extending  back  to  their  babyhood 
days.  One  of  them  shall  be  inserted  here  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  a  fac-simile  of  his  every-day  chirography.  The 
"  Doctor "  referred  to  in  the  letter  was  a  cat  presented  by 
and  named  after  Dr.  J.  K.  Bartlett,  of  Milwaukee. 


>v  O^U^t  4  Tw- 


W 


MORAL    COURAGE. 


MORAL  COURAGE. 


521 


One  particular  element  of  Carpenter's  make-up  was  his 
bold  frankness.  He  never  skulked  or  retreated;  never 
denied  responsibility  for  anything  rightfully  belonging  to 
him,  no  matter  how  odious  it  appeared  to  the  people;  never 
shirked  an  unpleasant  duty;  never  hesitated  to  brave  popular 
clamor  if  he  thought  his  cause  just.  In  America  nothing 
arouses  the  enthusiasm  of  the  realm  more  than  an  unflinch 
ing  exhibition  of  moral  courage;  hence  Carpenter's  friends 
were  always  proud  of  him,  his  enemies  always  admired  and 
feared  him,  though  they  might  not  indorse  his  sayings  and 
doings. 

He  fought  openly;  joining  enemies  when  they  were  in  the 
right  and  admonishing  friends  when  he  thought  they  were 
in  the  wrong.  He  was  not  a  student  or  disciple  of  policy, 
but  moved  forward  according  to  his  knowledge  and  his 
understanding.  This  often  led  him  into  counter-currents 
and  out  of  his  party  lines,  but  it  gave  him  a  solid  reputation 
for  independence  of  thought  and  honestv  of  conviction  that 
could  not  be  attacked.  When  an  infectious  malaria  per 
vaded  the  public  air,  striking  down  whomsoever  high  and 
honorable  it  touched,  Carpenter  defied  the  scourge  and  ex 
plained  to  the  world  that  the  Credit  Mobilier  was  nothing  to 
be  feared,  and  was  an  imaginary  monster  that  had  in  no  man 
ner  whatever  been  an  injury  or  loss  to  the  government. 

He  fearlessly  stepped  out  of  his  party  ranks  and  insisted 
that  both  the  contending  governments  in  Louisiana  in  1873 
were  tainted  with  fraud  and  a  new  election  should  be  or 
dered  by  congress  as  the  only  fair  means  of  settling  the 
most  vexed  and  dangerous  state  complication  that  had  ever 
arisen  in  the  Union.  Although,  in  response  to  the  general 
demand,  he  voted  to  repeal  the  pack-pay  law,  he  was  the 
only  man  in  the  United  States  who  had  the  moral  courage 
to  appear  before  an  angry  and  impatient  public  in  defense 
of  his  vote  to  increase  the  pay  of  congressmen  and  to 


522  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

establish  the  rectitude  of  his  purpose  and  the  justness  of  his 
premises. 

There  are  many — not  men  of  small  calibre  either  —  who 
believed  these  acts  were  impolitic,  absolute  mistakes;  but 
nobody  denied  him  the  rewards  of  unmixed  moral  courage. 
As  to  the  speech  in  defense  of  his  vote  for  increased  pay, 
some  thought  and  still  think  it  was  an  unfortunate  substitute 
for  silence.  Perhaps  it  was,  for  himself;  but  it  put  upon 
record  many  important  truths  and  historical  facts  that  the 
public  never  would  have  known  had  his  fearlessness  of  per 
sonal  consequences  been  as  puny  as  that  of  his  fellow-con 
gressmen.  Nevertheless,  Carpenter  did  make  mistakes. 
His  vote  against  the  confirmation  of  General  Longstreet, 
when  nominated  by  Grant  for  a  public  office,  made  him  ap 
pear  sectional,  and  was,  perhaps,  unwise;  but  whether  his 
defense  of  Belknap  and  his  argument  for  Tilden  were  im 
politic  is  a  matter  with  which  the  public  has  no  concern. 
They  were,  like  other  errors  charged  against  him  by  his 
party,  mere  professional  matters,  to  be  wholly  controlled  as 
he  saw  fit. 

OFFICIAL  INTEGRITY. 

Whatever  else  Carpenter's  enemies  had  the  hardihood  to 
charge  against  him,  they  never  could  point  to  any  act  blem 
ishing  his  public  integrity.  He  passed  through  the  eventful 
period  succeeding  the  war,  when  enormous  claims  were 
trooping  about  Washington  in  seductive  search  of  those 
who  would  exchange  votes  for  pelf,  without  taint.  The 
Stygian  stream  of  corruption  often  crept  noisome  and  noxious 
past  his  door,  but  found  no  secret  entrance.  A  single  in 
stance,  related  by  a  former  law  partner,  will  illustrate  the 
entire  subject: 

While  sitting  with  him  in  his  private  office  in  Washington  one  morning 
before  the  senate  convened,  a  gentleman  walked  in,  and,  handing  his  card 
to  Carpenter,  stated  that  he  wished  to  retain  him  in  a  case  then  pending  in 
the  supreme  court,  and  laying  down  a  $5,ooo-check,  payable  to  Carpenter's 
order,  remarked  that  on  the  following  Wednesday  he  would  call  and  pay 


A   POWERFUL   MEMORY.  523 

him  another  $5,000.  He  casually  observed  that  two  other  eminent  law 
yers,  whom  he  named,  would  argue  the  case,  and  that  Carpenter  would  not 
need  to  participate  in  the  argument.  The  last  remark  attracted  Carpen 
ter's  attention,  and  he  requested  the  gentleman  to  take  his  $5,ooo-check 
with  him ;  and  if  he  concluded  to  accept  a  retainer,  the  whole  could  be 
paid  at  the  next  call.  The  next  week  the  gentleman  returned  with  a  check 
for  $10,000.  But  in  the  meantime  it  had  been  ascertained  that  the  prof 
fered  client  had  a  claim  for  $398,000  against  the  government  then  pending 
before  the  senate  and  referred  to  the  judiciary  committee  of  that  body,  and 
then  referred  to  a  sub-committee,  of  which  Carpenter  was  chairman.  The 
result  was  that  the  retainer  was  declined,  with  a  sharp  lecture  upon  the 
subject  of  retaining  lawyers  and  paying  them  large  fees  for  doing  nothing. 
Subsequently  the  claim  of  this  gentleman  was  investigated  in  committee, 
and  Carpenter  made  a  report  against  the  bill,  which  was  defeated  in  the 
senate. 

A  POWERFUL  MEMORY. 

Nature  gave  originally  to  Carpenter  a  memory  of  peculiar 
grasp  and  tenacity.  This  rare  gift  he  cultivated  as  much  as 
any  other  that  distinguished  him,  and  thus  made  it  a  prominent 
characteristic.  He  rarely  committed  his  popular  or  other 
speeches  to  writing,  but  revolved  the  subjects  upon  which  he 
proposed  to  speak  in  his  mind,  arranging  them  in  an  orderly 
manner  according  to  force  and  importance.  Thus  prepared, 
he  never  stumbled,  repeated  or  forgot,  or  reversed  the  order 
of  the  subjects.  In  reading  he  trained  his  memory  in  a  simi 
lar  manner.  He  made  use  of  no  scrap  or  note  books,  but, 
after  perusing  a  theme,  halted  to  digest  the  important  points 
of  it  and  ruminate  upon  facts  and  expressions.  Sometimes, 
in  fact,  entire  passages,  pages  or  poems  were  committed  to 
memory  verbatim  before  going  further,  and  thus  he  not  only 
strengthened  his  mind  but  crowded  its  store-house  with  the 
rarest  gems  of  literature  and  the  most  important  facts  and 
events  of  history.  His  mind  in  this  respect  resembled  the 
ocean,  toward  which  all  streams,  great  and  small,  are  ever 
flowing. 

The  marvelous  power  of  his  memory  to  grasp,  like  an 
octopus,  whatever  it  would,  was  amply  illustrated,  when,  in 
1866,  the  notable  speech  upon  reconstruction  and  Negro 


524  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

suffrage  made  at  the  Janesville  banquet  to  General  Wm.  T. 
Sherman,  not  being  written,  was,  upon  request,  recalled  three 
days  later  for  publication,  perfect  in  sentiment,  fact,  argument 
and  form. 

But  it  was  more  astonishingly  illustrated  at  New  Orleans 
in  1873,  when  a  speech  of  great  eloquence  and  power  upon 
the  Louisiana  election  imbroglio,  which  occupied  over  two 
hours  in  delivery,  was,  after  his  ardor  had  cooled  and  the  in 
spiriting  circumstances  of  the  occasion  had  entirely  passed 
away,  recalled  ]  for  a  phonographic  reporter  without  the  loss 
of  a  premise,  conclusion  or  illustration. 

The  power  to  memorize  reached  back  to  Carpenter's  early 
childhood.  He  could  commit  weekly  entire  chapters  of  the 
Bible  to  be  repeated  in  Sunday  school,  and  learn  declamations 
without  apparent  effort.  His  greatest  exploit  in  this  direc 
tion  —  referred  to  fully  in  the  account  of  his  childhood  —  was 
committing  to  memory  in  two  weeks  Webster's  reply  to 
Hayne,  keeping  up  the  regular  studies  of  his  classes  at  the 
same  time. 

In  debates  Carpenter  could  recall  all  the  points  he  desired 
to  controvert,  and  during  his  entire  congressional  career  never 
misquoted  his  opponents,  no  matter  how  many  days  had 
elapsed  between  their  utterances  and  his  replies. 

In  the  law  his  memory  served  him  with  equal  fullness  and 
accuracy.  He  could  at  any  time,  without  reference  to  books, 

1  Wm.  P.  Kellogg  has  thus  decribed  the  circumstances  :"The  leading  news 
papers  had  arranged  to  lay  before  their  readers  a  verbatim  report  of  the  ora 
tion,  and  the  audience,  as  well  as  hundreds  who  had  been  unable  to  obtain 
admission,  looked  eagerly  for  a  report  of  the  address.  It  did  not  appear. 
From  a  partisan  stand-point  it  was  not  what  was  expected  or  desired.  The 
wish  of  the  people  to  read  what  he  had  said  was  communicated  to  Carpenter, 
and  a  stenographer  was  placed  at  his  disposal.  He  consented  to  attempt  to 
reproduce  the  address.  Rapidly  pacing  the  floor  of  his  room,  pausing  every 
now  and  then  to  collect  his  thoughts  and  recall  the  surrounding  incidents 
of  the  occasion,  he  dictated  the  speech,  interruptions  included,  and  it  was 
published.  Afterward  the  short-hand  notes  of  his  address  as  actually  de 
livered  were  procured,  and  it  was  found  that  the  two  speeches,  uttered  three 
days  apart,  without  the  aid  of  note  or  memorandum,  varied  scarcely  the 
turn  of  a  sentence  or  the  substitution  of  a  word." 


A  POWERFUL   MEMORY.  525 

make  a  resume  of  the  great  decisions  of  Justices  Marshall, 
Shaw  and  Parsons  and  of  the  late  noted  members  of  the 
United  States  supreme  court. 

Many  lawyers  have  a  habit  of  quoting  from  memory  — 
that  is,  without  referring  to  the  actual  text  and  reading  from 
it  —  the  decisions  of  eminent  judges  in  such  a  manner  that 
they  will  sustain  whichever  side  of  the  case  they  may  be  ad 
vocating,  let  the  perversion  and  contortion  necessary  to  do  so 
be  never  so  violent.  This  could  not  be  done  in  any  cause 
upon  which  Carpenter  was  engaged,  as  he  would  at  once 
detect  the  falsehood,  and  turning  to  the  opinion  pretended  to 
be  quoted,  read  it  as  it  was,  thus  convicting  his  opponent  of 
the  grossest  of  those  numerous  dishonorable  tricks  resorted 
to  by  mere  case-lawyers. 

The  value  of  this  faculty  was  manifest  at  a  very  early  pe 
riod  of  his  professional  career.  In  1849,  during  his  partial 
blindness,  he  was,  with  the  aid  of  E.  P.  King,  trying  a  case 
at  Beloit,  in  which  John  M.  Keep,  subsequently  circuit  judge, 
was  the  opposing  counsel.  As  the  trial  progressed  Keep 
read  to  the  court  an  authority  which  both  astounded  Car 
penter  and  destroyed  his  case.  Utterly  dumbfounded  at  such 
a  doctrine,  and  knowing  he  had  never  seen  it  in  the  books, 
he  asked  the  justice  for  the  usual  adjournment,  which  was 
granted. 

Going  with  King  direct  to  the  office,  he  began  a  search 
for  the  revolutionary  doctrines  given  to  the  court  by  Keep, 
and  in  course  of  time  discovered  they  had  been  read, 
not  from  that  opinion  of  the  court  which  carried  judgment, 
but  from  the  dissenting  opinion  of  an  eccentric  judge.  The 
controlling  opinion  sustained  Carpenter's  views.  Therefore, 
when  he  went  into  court  to  complete  the  trial,  the  deception 
Keep  had  attempted  to  practice  on  him,  his  client  and  the 
justice,  was  exposed,  and  Keep  himself  received  a  wordy 
castigation  from  the  blind  but  triumphant  attorney,  as  well  as 
the  emphatic  sibilations  of  the  spectators.  Carpenter  won 
the  case. 


526  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

Thus  his  power  of  memory  served  him  in  law,  in  equity, 
in  debate,  in  public  speaking,  at  the  banquet,  and  in  all  so 
cial  gatherings  —  succored  justice  and  enriched  pleasures. 

A  WONDERFUL  VOICE. 

The  English  language  furnishes  no  words  with  which  to 
describe  a  beautiful  sound.  No  pen,  therefore,  can  fully  set 
forth  the  charms  of  Carpenter's  marvelous  voice.  Its  range 
seemed  to  be  even  greater  than  that  of  his  genius,  and  how 
ever  he  used  it  —  whether  in  exhortation,  sledge-hammer 
argument,  pleading,  paying  a  tender  tribute  to  the  dead,  or 
soothing  a  sorrowing  child  —  there  was  no  decrement  of  its 
singular  dramatic  power  and  sure  effect. 

He  possessed  a  soul  of  perpetual  bondissement  and  good 
humor,  and  his  voice  was  like  it  —  always  cheery,  musical 
and  winning.  It  was  a  welcome  sound  in  every  ear,  and 
made  life-long  friends  of  some  who  never  spoke  to  him  until 
near  the  close  of  his  career,  and  first  then  to  confess  they  had 
been  attracted  by  the  music  of  his  voice. 

It  was  said  that  Bishop  Whitefield  could  compel  his  hear 
ers  to  weep  or  laugh  by  the  opposing  intonations  of  his  voice 
in  uttering  the  word  "  Mesopotamia."  Carpenter  never  at 
tempted  to  confine  his  influence  over  an  audience  to  the 
capabilities  of  his  voice  in  uttering  a  single  word;  but  his 
power  over  all,  from  the  crying  babe  in  its  cradle  to  the 
aged  listener  to  his  strongest  oratory,  was  not  less  remark 
able  than  that  of  Bishop  Whitefield. 

When  he  first  entered  the  senate  his  face  and  form  were 
not  familiar  to  the  galleries.  On  a  certain  occasion,  the 
chamber  had  been  packed  by  the  announcement  that  a  dis 
tinguished  senator  would  speak.  When  he  had  done,  Car 
penter  rose.  The  great  crowd  did  not  know  him,  and 
commenced  to  pour  out  through  the  various  entrances.  He 
raised  his  voice,  and  swept  the  retreating  throng  with  one  or 
two  of  those  beautiful  gems  with  which  he  could  always 
open  a  speech.  The  human  stream  halted,  a  moment  was 


A   WONDERFUL   VOICE.  527 

given  to  listening,  and  a  minute  later  all  had  returned  to 
their  seats,  and  the  galleries  became  still  and  attentive.  It 
was  then  that  Schuyler  Coif  ax,  the  Vice-President,  said: 
"  No  mortal  ever  heard  that  wonderful  voice  and  did  not 
stop  to  listen." 

The  charm  which  Carpenter's  intonations  possessed  for 
children  was,  as  we  have  seen,  remarkable.  He  was  never 
trained  to  sing,  and  probably  never  learned  the  words  of  a 
song;  nevertheless,  when  a  child  could  not  be  soothed  by 
mother,  nurse,  or  other  person,  he  could  take  it,  and,  walk 
ing  back  and  fertilising  a  low  song  of  his  own  composition, 
and  never  fail  to  bring  rest  and  quiet. 

In  public  speaking  his  voice  was  peculiarly  attractive  and 
musical  in  its  natural,  unrestrained  flow.  The  late  John  W. 
Forney  said  it  was  "  a  sweet  combination  of  the  notes  of  the 
flute  and  the  nightingale,"  and  Morton  McMichael  wrote: 
"His  voice  was  one  of  singular  grandeur;  gentle  as  the 
strain  of  an  ^Eolian  harp  in  pathetic  pleading,  ringing  clear 
as  a  fire-bell  in  persuasive  argument,  or  rolling  in  thunder 
tones  in  well-rounded  periods  of  rhetoric  when  addressing 
the  masses  or  in  the  arena  of  hot-tempered  debate." 

Carpenter's  laugh  was  more  completely  beyond  descrip 
tion  than  his  voice  in  speaking.  It  was  like  the  sunlight  and 
the  showers  that  freshen  and  gladden  everything  in  nature 
without  effort.  It  was  clear,  ringing,  merry,  magnetic  and 
contagious.  One  of  his  partners,  A.  A.  L.  Smith,  declared 
there  was  "nothing  in  the  world  like  it  —  doors  and  walls 
could  not  confine  it  nor  deprive  it  of  the  power  to  compel 
others  to  laugh  with  him."  In  1859  a  vivacious  writer  made 
a  pen-picture  of  noted  Milwaukee  characters.  It  contains  a 
description  of  Carpenter's  laugh  that  is  worth  preserving: 

Stop,  there  comes  some  one  up  the  path  —  a  large  man,  with  two  books 
under  his  arm ;  his  hat  jauntily  on  the  side  of  his  head ;  his  coat  buttoned 
across  his  broad  chest;  his  step  elastic,  with  just  the  least  bit  of  a  swagger 
in  it;  his  face  decidedly  good-looking,  if  not  handsome;  long,  brown 
hair,  inclined  to  be  literary  in  its  direction,  but  a  little  neglige  in  its  man 
agement.  Do  I  know  him?  Don't  you?  There,  the  "fourth  edition" 


528  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

has  fallen  asleep  and  rolled  off  the  steps  into  the  mud,  and  our  legal  friend, 
as  he  sees  it,  bursts  into  a  laugh  of  the  most  peculiar  and  unmistakable 
character.  It  is  the  quintessence  of  cachinnation.  I  know  not  whether  it 
sounds  most  like  a  baby's  prattle  or  the  pouring  of  champagne  into  a  deep 
wine-glass,  but  I  never  heard  another  laugh  like  it.  Now  you  know  who 
it  is  —  Matt.  H.  Carpenter,  of  course. 

This  good  cheer  of  the  voice  was  lost  only  in  death, 
Carpenter's  last  words  to  his  wife,  shortly  before  passing  to 
his  final  account,  being  uttered  in  the  same  cheery  tones  that 
through  all  his  life  had  been  the  very  stimulant  of  love  and 
the  soul. 

PECULIARITIES  OF  ORATORY. 

It  is  little  enough  to  say  that  Carpenter  was  one  of  the 
most  popular  orators  of  his  time.  He  was  not  so  ponderous 
as  Webster,  not  so  classic  as  Everett,  not  so  volatile  and 
flowery  as  Sargeant  Smith  Prentiss,  not  so  fiery  as  Henry 
Clay  or  E.  D.  Baker,  yet  he  possessed  such  a  degree  of 
all  these  attributes,  together  with  charms  of  voice  and  grace 
of  manner  purely  his  own,  as  to  make  friends  of  every  audi 
ence  and  carry  his  hearers  whither  he  would. 

He  did  not  render  his  utterances  soggy  by  quotations  from 
foreign  tongues  or  by  labored  injection  of  words  of  remote, 
specific  and  uncommon  meaning.  Simplicity  of  language 
and  lucidity  of  statement  brought  himself  and  his  hearers 
into  close  and  easy  communion,  and  carried  them  through  to 
the  end  delighted  and  refreshed.  When  a  young  and  ambi 
tious  lawyer  of  Fond  du  Lac  wrote  him,  asking  how  to 
become  an  orator,  the  reply  was,  "  study  only  to  be  clear." 
Jeremiah  S.  Black,  one  of  the  kings  of  the  forum,  described 
Carpenter's  oratory: 

He  was  gifted  with  an  eloquence  sni  generis.  It  consisted  of  free  and 
fearless  thought  wreaked  upon  expression  powerful  and  perfect.  He  often 
warmed  with  feeling,  but  no  bursts  of  passion  deformed  the  symmetry  of 
his  argument.  The  flow  of  his  speech  was  steady  and  strong  as  the  cur 
rent  of  a  great  river.  Every  sentence  was  perfect;  every  word  was  fitly 
spoken;  each  apple  of  gold  was  set  in  its  picture  of  silver.  This  singular 
faculty  of  saying  everything  just  as  it  ought  to  be  said  was  not  displayed 


PECULIARITIES   OF   ORATORY.  529 

only  in  the  senate  and  in  the  courts;  everywhere,  in  public  and  private,  on 
his  legs,  in  his  chair,  and  even  lying  on  his  bed,  he  always  "  talked  like  a 
book." 
I 

Carpenter  himself  has  left  a  description  of  oratory: 

There  are  two  classes,  into  one  or  other  of  which  all  great  speeches 
fall.  There  is  the  analytical  method,  by  which  the  whole  is  first  resolved 
into  its  parts  or  elements,  and  the  fragments  are  separately  shown  to  the 
audience,  and  then  put  back  into  the  construction  of  the  whole,  or  the 
speaker's  theory  of  the  whole,  one  by  one,  as  a  mason  lays  brick  upon 
brick  in  a  wall.  This  is  an  appeal  to  pure  reason  and  approaches  a  mathe 
matical  demonstration.  It  challenges  examination  of  every  element  of  a 
theory  —  it  hands  each  brick  over  to  be  examined  by  the  audience.  When 
each  has  been  weighed,  tested,  measured,  fully  known,  then  the  construc 
tion  of  the  theory- wall  commences;  and  having  thus  examined  the  mate 
rial  and  witnessed  the  construction,  the  result  stands  forth,  not  a  matter  of 
belief,  but  of  knowledge.  No  man  can  satisfy  you  that  the  brick  wall, 
which  you  bave  thus  followed  in  its  construction  from  materials  and  ele 
ments  to  the  final  result,  is  anything  else  than  just  what  you  have  seen  it 
and  know  it  to  be,  unless  he  can  first  satisfy  you  that  you  are  either  crazy 
or  a  fool. 

The  other,  the  rhetorical  method,  is  exactly  the  reverse.  The  details  ot  a 
subject,  the  elements  and  processes  of  a  theory,  are  all  concealed,  and  the 
speaker  seeks  to  fascinate  and  mesmerize  a  congregation,  lull  their  reason, 
arouse  their  feelings  and  emotions,  and  rush  them  pell-mell  to  the  desired 
conclusion.  Such  a  trip  is  sometimes  very  agreeable  to  the  hearer.  He 
listens,  or  thinks  he  does  —  rises  and  falls  in  cadence  with  the  orator,  is 
borne  along  in  a  gaudy  chariot,  carried  by  the  power  of  impassioned  elo 
quence  over  all  doubts,  laughs  at  all  difficulties,  and  when  he  is  set  down 
at  a  definite  point,  wonders  first  how  he  got  there,  and  second,  whether  he 
is  standing  on  clouds  or  the  firm  fixed  earth. 

Both  these  methods  have  the  same  end  in  view ;  both  aim  to  win  assent 
to  some  proposition  or  theory.  One  satisfies,  proves  and  convinces;  the 
other  amuses,  cajoles  and  persuades. 

The  former  method  was  Carpenter's,  and  he  describes  it 
in  the  performances  of  his  dear  friend,  Father  Richmond: 

The  first  ten  minutes  of  a  sermon  were  occupied  with  short  sentences; 
the  foundations  of  his  arguments  were  slowly  and  carefully  laid,  and  the 
structure  of  his  theory  arose  upon  it  as  regularly,  and  stood  as  firmly  and 
was  as  plainly  seen,  as  a  marble  palace  upon  its  foundations.  The  beauties 
of  his  sermons  were  beauties  of  proportion,  symmetry,  adaptation,  not 
artificial  ornaments  and  figures  of  speech.  So  that  by  the  time  he  began 
34 


53O  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

to  grow  excited,  when  his  eye  began  to  blaze  and  his  cheek  to  grow  pale, 
when  he  began  to  roll  the  thunders  and  dart  the  lightnings  of  his  genius, 
you  had  been  prepared  for  it;  he  had  raised  you  up,  had  made  you  ashamed 
of  the  littleness  of  this  world,  and,  for  the  hour  at  least,  had  stilled  its 
ambition,  its  jealousy,  its  animosities ;  he  had  magnetized  and  inspired  you ; 
and  speaker  and  hearers  seemed  to  rise  together  into  a  clearer  air  and  a 
higher  life. 

Thomas  F.  Bayard  says  the  "  easy  flow,  the  careless  grace 
and  persuasiveness  of  Carpenter's  methods  and  manner  of 
reasoning,  his  felicity  of  diction  and  pleasant  elocution,  all 
combined  to  win  assent,  and  render  disagreement  from  his 
propositions  a  difficult  task."  With  a  popular  audience,  how 
ever,  his  earnestness  —  for  he  believed  what  he  said,  or  said 
what  he  believed  —  had  an  effect  not  less  than  that  of  any 
other  attribute  of  his  oratory.  His  general  appearance,  too, 
contributed  materially  to  his  success  on  the  rostrum. 

Instead  of  assuming  a  frigid  dignity  and  a  lofty  bearing 
which  some  have  mistaken  for  greatness,  he  came  among 
the  people  like  sunshine  after  a  shower  —  smiling,  pleasant, 
frank  and  friendly  —  diffusing  good  nature  wherever  he 
went.  In  sultry  weather  on  the  stump,  he  frequently  dis 
carded  his  coat,  entering  upon  the  task  as  a  farmer  begins 
the  harvest  or  fallow,  free  from  cumbrous  restraints.  And 
there  was  a  charm  in  his  very  manner  of  doing  these  things. 
He  could,  it  has  been  aptly  said,  "  take  off  his  coat  like  a 
king." 

There  never  was  a  Wisconsin  man  who  could  stir  en 
thusiasm,  call  out  audiences  and  leave  behind  such  lasting 
effects  as  Carpenter.  In  congress  he  was  called  the  most 
perfect  orator  of  the  senate,  and  before  the  United  States 
supreme  court  was  noted  for  the  mellifluous  beauty  of  his 
delivery. 

As  a  debater  he  was  equal  to  every  emergency,  ready  for 
any  attack  and  able  to  parry  almost  any  thrust.  Nothing 
seemed  to  excite  his  anger  and  he  never  resented  the  anger 
of  others.  In  fact,  as  attack  grew  more  vehement,  furious 
and  spiteful,  he  became  more  good-humored  and  smiling. 


PECULIARITIES    OF   ORATORY.  53! 

Thus,  with  but  the  slightest  forensic  effort,  he  frequently 
came  off  victorious  from  the  placid  evenness  of  his  temper 
alone.  Anger  he  knew  to  be  a  dangerous  and  self-destruc 
tive  weapon  in  oratorical  combats.  In  this  respect  Moore's 
scintillating  tribute  to  Richard  Brinsley  Sheridan  maybe  ap 
plied  to  Carpenter: 

"  Whose  humor  as  gay  as  the  fire-fly's  light, 

Played  round  ev'ry  subject,  and  shone  as  it  played; 
Whose  wit,  in  the  combat,  as  gentle  as  bright, 
Ne'er  carried  a  heart-stain  away  on  its  blade." 

He  ever  could  utter,  upon  occasion,  many  beautiful  and 
touching  sentiments.  They  gathered  as  much  from  his 
voice  and  pathos  as  from  any  form  of  construction;  so  their 
loveliness  and  tenderness  can  not  be  reproduced  in  mere 
words.  No  one  who  has  not  sat  beneath  the  influence  of 
his  eagle  spirit  and  flute-like  voice  can  appreciate  his  orator 
ical  powers.  "  Nature  planted  in  his  soul  the  genius  of  elo 
quence,"  says  Andrew  J.  Aikens,  "  and  each  listener  is 
charmed  with  the  music  of  his  words  as  with  a  bubbling 
fountain  amid  the  verdant  hills  of  his  native  state." 

Carpenter's  eloquence  could  be  impassioned  as  well  asi 
beautiful,  as  all  know  who  passed  through  the  trying  and 
turbulent  hours  of  the  Rebellion.  As  the  muezzin's  thrilling 
cry  called  the  faithful  to  prayer,  so  the  clarion  notes  of  his 
patriotism,  like  a  voice  from  Sinai,  rallied  the  people  to  valor 
for  freedom  and  an  undishonored  Union.  How,  fired  by  his 
pleas,  the  fields,  the  shops,  the  factories  and  the  schools 
poured  out  their  hosts  to  crowd  and  strengthen  the  broken 
ranks  of  freedom!  How  the  patriot  citizens  gathered  at  the 
polls  to  sustain  a  bleeding  but  glorious  government!  But  he 
could  be  soft,  soft  as  the  touch  of  childhood,  tender  as  the 
voice  of  love. 

"  And  when  he  spoke 

Sweet  words  like  dropping  honey  he  did  shed; 
And  'twixt  the  pearls  and  rubies  softly  broke 
A  silvery  sound  that  heavenly  music 
Seems  to  make." 


532  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

CHAPTER  XL VI. 

PHYSICAL  APPEARANCE. 

Few  men  possessed  a  more  graceful  figure  than  Carpenter, 
or  one  so  certain  to  arrest  the  attention  and  command  the  ad 
miration  of  every  observer.  As  a  child  he  was  distinguished 
for  extraordinary  beauty.  His  skin  was  as  fair  as  that  of  a 
girl,  his  hair  soft  and  wavy,  his  cheeks  and  lips  a  rosy  red, 
and  his  eyes,  of  a  deep,  clear,  liquid  blue,  were  large  and  ex 
pressive,  k  was  common  to  hear  people  exclaim  that  Merritt 
Carpenter  was  the  most  beautiful  boy  they  had  ever  seen. 

When  he  arrived  at  Beloit,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  there 
was  no  more  winning  or  attractive  young  man  in  the  state 
of  Wisconsin.  His  figure  was  tall,  straight,  well-proportioned 
and  supple,  surmounted  by  a  large,  shapely  head  that  seemed 
invested  with  a  nobleness  not  easy  to  describe  yet  always 
certain  to  be  noticed  and  admired.  Above  all  was  a  magnifi 
cent  crown  of  thick,  slightly  wavy  brown  hair,  which,  though 
quite  unmanageable  on  account  of  a  large  "  cow-lick,"  was 
nevertheless  a  decidedly  marked  and  attractive  feature  of  his 
tout-ensemble. 

He  always  wore  his  hair  rather  long,  which  became,  as  he 
grew  older,  a  more  perfect  adornment  of  his  massive  head 
and  heavy  stature,  and  gave  to  him  that  half-noble,  half-dis 
tinguished  and  withal  picturesque  appearance  so  pleasing  to 
those  who  saw7  him  in  public  debate  or  on  the  rostrum.  As  it 
began  to  grow  gray  its  effect  was  still  more  striking,  lending 
that  leonine  aspect  which  moved  Geo.  W.  Peck,  the  humor 
ous  editor,  to  denominate  him  the  "  Young  Lion  of  the  West." 

Charles  G.  Williams,  in  his  memorial  address,  said:  "  He 
did  indeed,  sir,  walk  with  the  port  and  majesty  of  a  king." 
On  the  same  occasion  Geo.  C.  Hazelton  said: 

He  was  a  most  attractive  man  in  his  physical  development.  Nature 
rarely  fashions  into  manhood  a  form  so  perfect  and  a  presence  so  command- 


PHYSICAL   APPEARANCE.  533 

ing.  It  was  my  good  fortune  in  boyhood  days  to  look  upon  Mr.  Webster 
and  hear  him  address  a  popular  audience  in  New  England.  His  great  utter 
ances  still  echo  in  my  ears,  and  his  Godlike  mien,  in  all  its  varied  powers, 
still  remains  a  bright  picture  on  the  walls  of  my  memory.  No  man  ever 
saw  and  heard  Carpenter  under  like  circumstances  that  did  not  retain  the 
impression  of  his  great  presence  for  a  life-time.  I  bear  him  in  remem 
brance  as  he  appeared  in  the  majesty  and  beauty  of  his  manhood's  strength, 
when  his  shoulders  seemed  broad  and  strong  enough  to  bear  the  weight  of 
nations,  and  "  his  look  drew  audience  still  as  night  or  'summer's  noontide 
air."  I  bear  him  in  remembrance  as  he  came  in  the  days  of  war  from  the 
forum  of  justice  to  the  tribunes  of  the  people 

"  To  speak  the  word 
Which  wins  the  freedom  of  a  land, 
And  lift  for  human  rights  the  sword 

That  dropped  from  Hampden's  dying  hand." 

When  Reverdy  Johnson  first  saw  Carpenter  enter  the 
chamber  of  the  United  States  supreme  court  at  Washington, 
with  that  peculiar  stride,  slightly  tinged  with  military  sharp 
ness,  yet  overflowing  with  independence  and  self-conscious 
strength,  he  exclaimed:  "There  comes  one  of  Nature's 
noblemen  —  a  very  lord;  you  can  feel  the  power  of  his  pres 
ence  in  the  air." 

In  the  senate  of  the  United  States,  his  physical  appearance 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  galleries  as  soon  as  that  of  any 
other  senator,  Roscoe  Conkling  and  Charles  Sumner  not  ex- 
cepted,  and  his  prominent  figure  brought  to  the  lips  of  every 
stranger  the  involuntary  inquiry,  "Who  is  that  gentleman?" 

He  brought  from  West  Point  a  semi-military  air  which  a 
military  man  would  not  fail  to  recognize  at  once,  but  which 
he  assumed  naturally  and  unconsciously.  It  consisted  in  the 
measured  regularity  of  his  step  and  the  half-dashing,  non 
chalant  manner  in  which  he  wore  his  hjit  and  coat,  the  latter 
always  fastened  tightly  across  his  broad  chest,  whenever  he 
appeared  in  public  or  upon  the  streets. 

His  face,  so  rosy  and  fair  in  youth,  grew  broader  and 
heavier,  and  stronger  in  its  betrayal  of  mental  characteristics, 
as  manhood  advanced.  In  complete  repose  it  was  not  par 
ticularly  striking,  except  for  its  evidences  of  latent  power;  but 


534  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

when  lighted  up  by  the  play  of  all  those  passions  and  forces 
which  constituted  his  prowess  as  an  orator,  it  became  a  face 
whose  unusual  beauty,  nobleness  and  clear  reflections  of  gen 
ius  can  neither  be  delineated  nor  forgotten.  It  was  adorned 
with  no  beard  except  a  moustache,  which  had  a  graceful 
droop,  like  that  of  an  artist,  save  when  trained,  as  it  fre 
quently  was  in  later  years,  to  stand  out  conspicuously  mili- 
tairement. 

There  was  a  certain  neglige  about  his  dress  and  make-up 
that  indicated  greatness,  pictured  a  man  above  the  technical 
ities  and  frivolities  of  a  fop.  This,  together  with  his  lordly 
comportement,  his  large  head,  his  robust  -physique,  and  the 
military  air  of  his  coat,  gave  him  a  distinguished  appearance, 
in  every  sense  of  the  word,  that  was  matched  by  hardly  one 
of  his  contemporaries  at  the  bar,  in  the  senate,  or  on  the 
rostrum. 

Sometimes,  in  his  most  playful  moods,  when  there  seemed 
actually  to  be  no  limit  to  his  mirth  and  wit,  when  he  turned 
popular  audiences  into  tempests  of  laughter,  warmed  the 
august  solemnity  of  the  supreme  court  into  the  smiles  of 
comfortable  good  humor,  or  in  the  senate  played  like  a  very 
necromancien  upon  the  foibles,  deflections  and  inconsistencies 
of  his  opponents,  carrying  destruction  and  disaster  in  the 
brilliant  stream  of  his  rancorless  vivacity,  he  would  stand  mo 
tionless  upon  the  floor,  with  both  hands  easily  thrust  into  his 
pantaloons  pockets.  There  was  no  other  man  in  the  United 
States  senate  who  could  assume  that  attitude  without  ap 
pearing  provincial.  With  Carpenter,  however,  it  seemed  to 
add  a  rich  flavor  of  fun  and  waggery  to  his  humor. 

He  was  no  dissembler,  took  on  no  cloak  of  austerity  or 
dignity,  nor  attempted  to  force  the  public  to  believe  he  was 
profoundly  wise  by  going  about  wrapped  in  the  owl-like 
plumage  of  solemn  silence  and  dismal  gravity  which  so  often 
pass  for  statesmanship  and  wisdom.  Thus,  assuming  noth 
ing,  doing  all  things  in  the  perfection  of  natural  simplicity, 
the  very  absence  of  those  tricks  in  him  whose  presence  in 


PORTRAITS.  535 

others  allowed  them  to  seem  great,  proved  clearly  to  all  the 
world  that  Carpenter  was  indeed  great. 

During  the  last  two  years  of  his  life  Carpenter's  physical 
appearance,  through  intense  pain,  suffered  a  complete,  and  to 
those  not  permitted  to  observe  the  gradual  transformation,  a 
startling  change.  His  hair  and  moustache  grew  silvery  white, 
his  weight  was  greatly  reduced,  and  his  face  assumed  that 
waxy,  translucent  semblance  which  struck  sadness  to  every 
heart,  and  contrasted  as  strongly  as  sunlight  and  darkness 
with  that  rich  glow  and  sturdy  outline  so  remarked  and  ad 
mired  in  former  days. 

PORTRAITS. 

Eccentricity  was  not  an  attribute  of  Carpenter's  character. 
He  had  likes  and  dislikes,  however,  and  one  of  them  was 
the  interest  he  took  in  sitting  for  photographs  and  portraits. 
Nevertheless,  among  the  hundreds  of  his  pictures  extant, 
there  is  hardly  one  that  is  a  creditable  likeness  of  him,  owing 
to  the  extraordinary  mobility  of  his  face.  • 

In  April,  1858,  Samuel  M.  Brookes,  of  California,  had  a 
studio  in  Milwaukee,  next  to  the  office  of  E.  G.  Ryan.  Early 
in  that  month  Rvan  said  to  Brookes  that  Carpenter  desired 
good  portraits  of  his  wife  and  baby,  at  the  same  time  advis 
ing  him  to  go  to  Beloit  and  receive  the  commissions.  "  And 
by  all  means,"  said  Ryan,  "  paint  Matt,  life-size  and  hand 
some  as  he  is."  Acting  upon  this  advice  Brookes  went  to 
Beloit  and  painted  Carpenter,  who  gave  several  sittings  at 
his  room  in  the  hotel,  and  watched  the  progress  of  the  work 
with  peculiar  interest.  That  portrait,  which  was  pronounced 
a  good  and  life-like  representation,  is  preserved  by  the  family. 
It  shows  him  with  beard  upon  his  chin. 

During  the  Rebellion  Fred.  S.  Perkins,  of  Burlington, 
Wisconsin,  painted  a  vivacious  and  dashing  portrait  of  Car 
penter  that  was  very  popular.  It  clearly  and  strongly  sets 
forth  the  knight  he  was  in  those  perfect  days  of  physical  and 
mental  prowess. 

In  repose  the  face  of  Carpenter  was  rather  sad.     In  1879 


536  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

• 

he  sat  for  a  portrait  in  oil  to  F.  A.  Lydston,  of  Milwaukee. 
The  artist  encountered  considerable  difficulty  in  catching  the 
proper  expression,  and,  to  use  his  own  words,  "  found  him 
self,  despite  all  efforts,  turns  and  tricks,  making  a  sleepy 
senator."  He  then  related  an  incident  in  the  career  of  a 
well-known  artist  of  other  days  who  had  a  sitting  from  a 
distinguished  official  in  Washington.  As  the  painting  pro 
gressed  the  official  dozed  off  into  a  sound  slumber.  The 
artist,  at  once  a  man  of  genius  and  conviviality,  took  advan 
tage  of  his  patron's  nap  to  go  out  and  exhilarate  his  spirits. 
The  exhilaration  proceeded  to  such  a  degree  that  the  painter 
was  unable  to  return,  and  the  sitter  was  compelled  to  pass 
the  night  amidst  the  paints,  oils,  old  skulls  and  bric-a-brac 
of  the  studio.  The  story  had  the  desired  effect.  Carpenter 
began  a  series  of  anecdotes,  his  face  lighted  up,  and  the 
artist  secured  a  satisfactory  expression.  This  portrait,  for 
which  Carpenter  sat  three  times,  is  the  possession  of  Emil 
Durr,  a  Milwaukee  lumber  merchant. 

In  1881,  after  the  death  of  Carpenter,  the  legislature  of 
Wisconsin  adopted  a  resolution  authorizing  Governor  Wm. 
E.  Smith  to  have  made  and  framed  a  life-size  portrait  of 
him  for  the  gallery  of  the  Wisconsin  State  Historical  So 
ciety.  The  commission  was  given  to  Fred.  A.  McEntee,  an 
artist  of  Wisconsin,  and  the  portrait  occupies  a  conspicuous 
place  in  the  state  capitol. 

Mrs.  Adele  Fassett  executed  a  life-size  crayon  portrait  of 
Carpenter  during  the  last  weeks  of  his  life.  It  is  one  of  the 
best  ever  made  of  him.  The  frontispiece  of  this  volume  is 
taken  from  that  portrait,  and  pictures  him  just  as  he  was 
in  December,  1880,  two  months  before  death.  It  sets  forth 
better  than  any  other  representation  the  fine  shape  and  pre 
dominating  intellectuality  of  his  great  head. 

CHARITY. 

Carpenter's  charities  were  as  boundless  as  his  opportu 
nities  for  their  bestowal.  No  single  person  can  relate  them. 


CHARITY.  537 

They  were  not  spasmodic,  not  exclusive;  but  cosmopolitan 
and  continuous.  At  the  death  of  Henry  J.  Raymond,  it  was 
said  that  "  the  dews  of  charity  which  he  had  been  sending 
all  over  the  land,  for  twenty  years,  had  risen  in  a  cloud, 
which  settled  over  his  grave  and  poured  itself  out  upon  the 
canonized  tenant."  If  all  the  children  of  poverty  whose  pil 
lows  have  been  softened,  hearts  gladdened  and  sufferings 
relieved  by  the  showers  of  Carpenter's  mercy  were  to 
gather  with  garlands  about  his  grave,  it  would  be  such  a 
demonstration  as  mortal  eye  hath  not  yet  looked  upon. 

The  portion  of  the  Bible  which  he  always  obeyed  was 
that  enjoining  charity  to  the  poor  which  are  always  with  us, 
for  "  whoever  shall  give  to  drink  unto  one  of  these  little  ones 
a  cup  of  cold  water  only,  *  *  he  shall  in  no  wise  lose 
his  reward."  But  his  gifts  were  not  the  part  of  a  mere  out 
ward  programme,  to  be  seen  of  men.  He  obeyed  rather 
the  Scriptural  injunction,  "Let  not  thy  right  hand  know 
what  thy  left  hand  doeth."  He  gave  because  it  was  one  of 
the  sweetest  comforts  of  his  life  —  the  spirit  of  his  religion. 
The  mere  bestowal  of  material  aid,  however,  was  but  a 
small  portion  of  his  bounties.  He  halted  at  every  plaint  of 
woe,  listened  to  every  recital  of  misfortune,  and  delivered, 
with  the  golden  trophies  of  his  purse,  the  sympathy  of  his 
tender  heart,  the  hope  of  his  buoyant  soul.  Often  and  often 
has  he  been  seen  to  stop  in  the  midst  of  engrossing  profes 
sional  labors  to  take  in  his  the  uncleansed  hand  of  a  beggar 
child,  while  listening  to  a  story  of  sorrow;  then  bestowing 
words  of  hope  for  the  future  and  a  crisp  bank  bill  for  the 
present,  dash  a  tear  from  his  eyes  and  plunge  again  into  the 
intricacies  of  his  task. 

One  of  his  former  law  partners  relates: 

Frequently  I  have  known  him  to  give  a  common  beggar  a  five-dollar 
bill.  When  I  suggested  to  him  that  the  person  upon  whom  he  was  about 
to  bestow  his  liberal  charity  was  a  notorious  beggar  and  well  known  in 
Milwaukee,  his  only  reply  was:  "Well,  he  does  not  look  as  though  his 
begging  had  been  very  successful."  And  he  gave  the  fellow  a  couple  of 
bank  bills  from  his  pocket 


538  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  Irish  and  the  colored  people  every 
where  loved  Carpenter.  It  was  because  he  was  as  generous 
to  them  with  kind  words  as  with  his  dollars.  A  Negro 
hack-driver  in  Washington  was  engaged  by  him  to  give  a 
pleasure  drive  to  some  visitors  from  the  west.  At  the  end  of 
the  service  he  handed  out  a  ten-dollar  bill  and  departed  with 
out  waiting  for  his  "change."  On  the  day  following  the 
driver  went  to  Carpenter's  office  to  return  his  balance  of  the 
ten  dollars.  Carpenter  was  busy.  Glancing  up  he  recog 
nized  the  driver,  and,  saying  half-apologetically,  "  Well,  well; 
did  I  forget  to  pay  you  yesterday?"  handed  out  another  ten- 
dollar  bill. 

One  chilly  November  evening  Carpenter  and  several  dis 
tinguished  friends  were  talking  upon  the  balcony  of  his 
favorite  Washington  hotel,  when  directly  under  them  a 
beggar  girl  and  her  mother  halted  to  ask  alms.  The  sweet 
voice  of  the  child  broke  forth  in  the  plaintive  melody, 

"  Out  in  the  cold  world,  out  in  the  street, 
Asking  a  penny  of  each  one  I  meet." 

Turning  abruptly  from  the  conversation  of  his  companions, 
he  leaned  upon  the  balcony  in  attentive  silence.  As  the  little 
prayer-song  drew  to  a  close,  he  reached  over  and  dropped 
into  the  lap  of  the  child  a  ten-dollar  gold-piece.  Marshall 
Jewell,  who  was  present  and  interested  in  Carpenter's  actions, 
inquired  if  that  was  not  an  unusual  gift.  "Oh,"  replied  the 
giver,  "  you  don't  know  how  much  pleasure  that  gold  will 
bestow  upon  the  child,  and  I  shall  never  miss  it." 

John  A.  Logan,  in  dwelling  upon  Carpenter's  goodness  of 
heart,  in  his  memorial  address  said : 

Sir,  his  nobleness  of  character  and  greater  tenderness  of  heart  made  him 
beloved  by  all  who  knew  him  well.  Frank  and  cordial  in  his  greetings  to 
all,  he  was  ever  ready  to  extend  a  helping  hand  to  those  in  need.  The  last 
time  he  was  out  of  his  home  was  to  ask  that  an  unfortunate  friend  be  given 
employment.  He  had  been  very  ill,  but  was  convalescing  when  this  person 
appealed  to  him  to  make  the  effort  in  his  behalf.  Mastering  by  his  great 
will-power  the  physical  weakness  of  the  hour,  he  ordered  his  carriage,  and 
by  the  assistance  of  a  servant  entered  it  and  drove  to  a  department  in  this 


CHARITY.  539 

city,  sought  the  chief,  and  earnestly  presented  his  friend's  cause,  and,  as  one 
can  imagine,  was  successful;  returning  home  much  exhausted,  he  took  his 
bed  never  to  rise  again. 

EL  L.  Humphrey,  representative  from  Wisconsin,  who 
knew  him  well,  is  not  less  eloquent  than  Logan: 

The  great  orator  and  statesman  was  generous  and  kind.  His  deeds  of 
charity  were  many.  He  would  defend  the  poor  man  with  all  his  wealth  of 
learning  and  eloquence  when  no  fee  could  be  expected.  His  early  strug 
gles  with  poverty  had  put  him  into  sympathy  with  the  unfortunate.  His 
goodly  nature,  aside  from  his  personal  experience,  had  made  him  the  friend 
and  defender  of  the  poor.  The  eminent  lawyer  and  accomplished  orator 
was  at  the  same  time  the  ready  friend,  the  kind,  sympathetic  supporter  of 
him  who  was  ready  to  perish.  Herein  was  honor.  Hence  shall  come  the 
sweet  memories  of  noble  deeds,  following  into  the  distant  future  the  name 
of  him  who  performed  them. 

"  The  drying  up  a  single  tear  has  more 
Of  honest  fame  than  shedding  seas  of  gore." 

In  a  chapter  on  "  good  hearts "  the  Washington  corre 
spondent  of  the  St.  Louis  Democrat  once  related  this  char 
acteristic  tale:  • 

One  day  during  the  special  session  of  1871  — a  sweltering  day  in  June  — 
Carpenter  had  made  a  speech  on  the  Alabama  matter,  and  returned  to  his 
lodgings  tired  and  out  of  breath.  Fahrenheit  marked  one  hundred  degrees 
in  the  shade.  The  air  was  still,  and  shimmered  over  the  hot  brick  pave 
ments  as  from  an  oven.  It  was  not  a  day  for  good  nature.  Matt  had  just 
laid  down  on  a  lounge  to  smoke  a  cigar  and  incidentally  to  go  to  sleep, 
when  "cling!  clang!  cling!"  went  the  door-bell. 

Matt,  hiding  his  discomfiture,  cried  cheerily:  "Come  in;  come  in!" 

The  visitor  was  a  fine,  decent  owld  Irishwoman,  between  fifty  and  sixty, 
or  thereabouts.  She  looked  tired  and  worn.  She  had  walked  into  town 
from  somewhere  up  in  Maryland,  about  twenty  miles. 

"  And  is  this  Sinator  Cairpinter ;  Lord  bless  him  ?  "  she  inquired. 

"Yes,  madame;  can  I  do  anything  for  you?  "  responded  the  "sinator,"  in 
his  blandest  tones. 

"Maybe  ye  moight,"  said  the  woman.  "Ye  see,  sinator,  I  am  a  poor 
Irish  woman.  Me  husband  got  sick  in  the  war,  and  he  niver  has  been  able  to 
do  much  since,  and  I've  had  a  hard  time  of  it  to  get  along,  with  all  the  doc 
tor's  bills  to  pay,  and  — " 

"  Well,  well.     Here's  a  five-dollar  — " 

"Ah,  Sinator,  Ochone,  it  isn't  begging  I  am,  and  I  wouldn't  handle  a 
whip  o'  yer  money  —  it's  only  a  chance  to  work  like  a  dacent  woman  I 


540  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

want,  and  they  towld  me  that  Sinator  Cairpinter  waz  a  good-hearted  man, 
and  if  I  went  and  towld  him  me  story,  he  wud  help  me  to  get  a  place  in  the 
trisury  departmint." 

"  Treasury  department,"  broke  in  the  astonished  senator,  "  what  can  you 
do  in  the  treasury  department?"  And  he  began  to  imagine  that  the  woman 
was  either  crazy  or  that  some  practical  joker  had  sent  her  to  him. 

"What  can  I  do  in  the  trisury  departmint,  is  id?  What  can  I  do? 
Why,  scrub,  scrub  the  floors;  what  else?" 

"  Scrub!  "  said  Matt,  "  well  here  is  richness.  An  old  Irish  woman  seek 
ing  senatorial  influence  to  get  a  job  of  scrubbing!  Just  you  wait  till  I  put 
on  my  boots  and  hat,  my  good  woman,  and  I'll  see  what  can  be  done  for 
you." 

And  in  about  five  minutes  the  Wisconsin  orator  was  on  his  way  to  the 
temple  of  the  exchequer  with  his  protege.  The  senatorial  influence  was 
potent,  and  if  you  call  at  the  treasury  department  and  inquire  for  the 
woman  who  holds  her  position  at  the  request  of  Matt.  Carpenter,  they  will 
show  you  a  fine  dacent  owld  Irish  woman,  with  gray  hair  and  wrinkled 
face,  who  mops  the  floors  and  scrubs  the  stairways,  and  she  is  Matt.'s  "lady 
friend"  there. 

Ed.  F.  Carpenter,  of  Janesville,  Wisconsin,  a  half-brother, 
feelingly  writes:  "Outside  of  my  own  household  there  is  no 
name  in  the  world  as  sweet  as  Matt.'s.  Whatever  I  am  I 
owe  to  him.  He  brought  me  from  my  mountain  home  in 
Yermont  and  sent  me  through  Beloit  College  at  his  own 
and  at  no  very  small  expense."  Years  before  he  paid  the 
expense  of  keeping  one  of  his  sisters  in  school  at  Waterbury 
and  afterward  purchased  a  farm  for  his  father  at  Warren, 
Vermont. 

E.  W.  Keyes  recollects  that  he  once  sat  on  the  veranda  of 
Willard's  Hotel,  in  Washington,  with  Carpenter,  when  a 
wandering  band  of  Italian  musicians  stopped  and  played  be 
fore  them.  At  the  close  of  the  music  a  rich-skinned,  black- 
eyed  girl  came  shyly  along  with  a  hat  for  dimes.  Carpenter 
tossed  her  a  five-dollar  bill.  As  she  bounded  away  to  ac 
quaint  her  companions  of  their  extraordinary  good  fortune, 
he  exclaimed  with  keen  satisfaction:  "Just  see  how  happy  I 
have  made  them!"  The  gift  was  a  source  of  greater  pleas 
ure  to  him  than  to  them. 

He  gave  very  largely  toward  building  and  supporting  vari- 


CHARITY.  541 

ous  churches  and  contributed  far  more  liberally  than  any 
other  man  of  equal  means  to  the  endowment  fund  of  Beloit 
College. 

It  is  related  that  a  poor  blind  man  named  Campbell,  hav 
ing  the  title  to  his  little  homestead  brought  into  question, 
went  to  Carpenter  for  help  to  defend  it.  The  issue  was  tried 
in  the  inferior  courts  and  decided  adversely,  but  Carpenter 
paid  the  costs,  cleared  the  record  and  carried  the  suit  to  the 
supreme  court.  There  he  was  successful,  and  in  .due  time 
returned  with  a  clear  title  to  his  client's  little  nest.  On  en 
gaging  him  Campbell  promised:  "If  you  can  keep  my 
property  away  from  the  rascals  who  are  now  after  me,  I 
will  deed  it  to  you."  Immediately  after  the  suit  was  decided 
the  old  man  groped  his  way  to  Carpenter's  office  and  asked 
whether  the  necessary  papers  for  the  promised  transfer  had 
been  .drafted.  "Yes,"  said  his  attorney,  "here  they  are. 
Take  them  home  to  your  wife,  and  if  they  are  all  right, 
sign  them."  He  returned  home  and  there  found  them  to  be 
receipted  bills  for  Carpenter's  services  and  all  the  expenses 
of  the  various  suits,  together  with  a  confirmed  deed  of  his 
homestead.  A  blind  man's  joys,  like  his  woes,  can  not  be 
described.  When  he  went  to  express  his  thanks,  Carpenter 
replied :  "  I  was  once  sightless  and  helpless  like  yourself.  If 
any  but  the  Almighty  knows  what  human  kindness  is,  I 
know ;  and  I  would  not  take  your  money  though  I  knew  it 
to  be  my  last  earthly  hope  of  a  dollar." 

On  one  cold  Christmas  morning,  just  as  he  entered  his 
office  in  Washington,  a  thinly-clad  woman,  with  tear-stained 
and  sorrowful  face,  came  and  inquired  for  "  the  good  Sena 
tor  Carpenter."  Robert l  brought  her  at  once  into  the  pri 
vate  office.  "Merry  Christmas  to  you!  my  good  woman. 
What  can  I  do  for  you?"  cried  Carpenter,  affecting  no  notice 
of  the  traces  of  her  troubles.  "  Oh,  sir,"  she  said,  bursting 
into  tears,  "  my  landlord,  Mr.  -  ,  has  just  turned  me 

1  Robert  Strahan,  for  many  years  Carpenter's  faithful  valet. 


542  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

and  my  children  out  of  the  house  and  is  putting  our  furniture 
into  the  street  because  I  could  not  pay  last  month's  rent." 

Rising  up  suddenly  and  hesitating  a  moment  to  recover 
from  his  utter  astonishment,  he  exclaimed:  "Great  God, 
father  of  the  poor!  Is  it  possible  that  on  this  beautiful 
Christmas  day,  the  morning  on  which  Christ  was  born, 
there  can  be  found  in  Washington  a  wretch  who  could  turn 
a  tenant  into  the  street  for  non-payment  of  rent?  And  a 
widow )  too,  with  clinging  babes!  Here,  my  poor  woman,  is 
twenty  dollars ;  it  is  all  the  money  I  have.  Pay  it  to  the 
rascal  and  tell  him  to  put  your  goods  back  into  the  house. 
Tell  him,  too,  I  will  attend  to  his  case  to-morrow." 

The  hard-hearted  landlord  had  an  early  visit  from  Car 
penter  next  day,  and  it  may  be  recorded  that  he  has  never 
repeated  that  unrighteous  and  unpardonable  Christmas 
episode. 

Instances  like  this  might  be  multiplied  ad  infnitum.  After 
his  death,  Mary,  the  well-known  Washington  apple-woman, 
appeared  at  the  funeral  and  with  tears  flowing  freely,  ex 
claimed:  "Oh,  and  is  he  dead?  He  was  such  a  good  man. 
He  always  bought  apples  of  me,  and  never  took  any  cJiange!" 

Carpenter  is  now  taking  his  "  change "  where  "  neither 
moth  nor  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where  thieves  do  not  break 
through  nor  steal." 

That  man  may  last  but  never  lives 
Who  much  receives  but  nothing  gives; 
Whom  none  can  love,  whom  none  can  thank, 
Creation's  blot,  creation's  blank." 


RELIGIOUS    VIEWS.  543 


CHAPTER  XL VII. 

RELIGIOUS  VIEWS. 

Carpenter  contained  abundant  material  for  a  devout  and 
exemplary  Christian — or,  rather,  church-member,  for  he 
was  in  fact  a  Christian.  He  was  naturally  religious  in  his 
tendencies,  and,  in  the  presence  of  solemn  ceremonies,  or 
beneath  the  teachings  of  an  eloquent  and  earnest  divine,  the 
depth  of  his  sympathies  never  failed  to  become  manifest.  As 
he  execrated  formalities  in  friendship  and  charity,  so  he  neg 
lected  some  of  those  outward  forms  of  worship  which  often 
advertise  to  the  world  a  hypocrite  or  an  impostor.  He  was, 
nevertheless,  a  believer  in  the  truths  of  the  Bible  and  the 
divinity  of  Jesus  Christ.  All  the  acts  of  his  private  life  be 
tween  himself  and  others  were  measured  by  the  golden  rule. 
He  was  a  believer,  but  did  not  think  well  of  making  an 
outcry  about  it.  He  once  said :  "  A  record  of  good  deeds 
will  comfort  us  all  in  this  world,  and  no  one  will  stand  the 
worse  for  it  in  the  next."  "  Even  so  faith,  if  it  hath  not 
works,  is  dead,  being  alone.  Yea,  a  man  may  say,  Thou 
hast  faith,  and  I  have  works ;  show  me  thy  faith  without  thy 
works,  and  I  will  show  thee  my  faith  by  my  works." 

Superstition  drives  many  into  the  church  and  into  religious 
ceremonies ;  but  Carpenter  was  not  one  of  them.  He  had  a 
mind  capable  of  deep  reasonings  and  great  conclusions.  He 
knew  that  the  teachings  and  philosophy  of  the  Child  of 
Bethlehem  were  far  beyond  those  of  ordinary  men.  No  one 
better  understood  the  weaknesses  of  the  flesh,  and  the  neces 
sity  of  having  some  lofty  sentiment  or  noble  profession  to 
hold  nature  in  check  and  diminish  the  trespassings  of  error. 
He  was  a  diligent  reader  of  the  Bible  from  early  childhood, 
and,  after  practicing  its  precepts  liberally,  passed  to  "the 
hereafter  of  hope  and  faith,"  .as  he  so  often  expressed  it,  in 
perfect  peace  and  confidence. 


544  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

He  carried  with  him  to  West  Point  a  small  Bible,  which 
gives  evidence  of  liberal  use,  and  on  the  fly-leaf  of  which  he 
wrote : 

UNITED  STATES  MILITARY  ACADEMY, 

WEST  POINT,  N.  Y.,  November  25,  1843. 

I  commenced  the  New  Testament  August  31,  1843,  on  leaving  camp,  and 
have  read  the  last  chapter  ot  the  same  this  evening. 

Even  before  this,  Carpenter  had  theorized  upon  the 
breadth  of  genuine  Christianity,  and  arrived  at  broader  con 
clusions  than  form  a  part  of  any  church  creed.  In  a  speech 
on  that  part  of  the  civil  rights  bill  proposing  to  secure  church 
privileges  to  colored  people  by  law,  delivered  in  the  senate 
in  1871,  he  made  reference  to  those  early  conclusions: 

I  am  not  speaking  from  an  impulse  of  prejudice.  I  could  worship  beside 
those  of  different  nationalities,  and  with  men  of  color.  One  of  the  most 
impressive  scenes  I  ever  witnessed  —  one  that  made  a  lasting  impression 
upon  my  mind —  I  recall  in  this  connection.  The  first  time  I  ever  left  my 
New  England  home,  while  a  mere  lad,  I  went  to  Montreal;  and  on  a  bright 
Sabbath  morning,  without  knowing  whither  I  was  going,  I  fell  in  with  the 
moving  crowd  and  found  myself  in  the  Catholic  cathedral  of  that  city  capa 
ble  of  holding  several  thousands.  There  I  found  a  vast  multitude  of  wor 
shipers.  There  was  the  governor-general  of  the  province,  with  high  officers 
of  state,  mingling  indiscriminately  with  the  people.  There  were  officers 
high  in  military  rank  and  private  soldiers,  naval  officers  of  distinction  and 
common  sailors.  There  were  Englishmen,  Frenchmen,  Spaniards,  Italians, 
Negroes,  and  Indians.  No  special  accommodations  for  any;  no  purple 
cushioned  seats  for  men  in  authority;  no  red  cushions  for  men  of  wealth; 
no  uncushioned  benches  for  men  of  less  degree.  Indeed,  no  seats  at  all. 
All  stood  upon  the  common  level  of  a  stone  floor;  and  when  the  tinkling 
of  the  silver  bell  was  heard  and  the  host  was  exalted,  all  knelt  upon  the 
same  floor.  I  never  realized  before,  as  when  I  saw  it  then  illustrated,  that 
of  one  flesh  God  had  made  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  I  never  appreciated 
so  fully  before  how  completely  our  holy  religion  ignores  the  artifical  distinc 
tions  of  societv.  That  realized  my  idea  of  a  Catholic  communion,  and 
represented  to  my  apprehension  that  God  is  so  far  above  man  that  artificial 
and  accidental  distinction  among  men  are  forgotten  in  His  acknowledged 
presence. 

Benjamin  Nute,  an  early  graduate  of  Beloit  College,  says 
the  first  time  he  ever  heard  Carpenter  speak  was  in  1848, 
during  a  series  of  revival  meetings  in  that  village.  The 


FAVORITE    DIVINES. 


545 


young  attorney  was  present  every  evening  and  generally  oc 
cupied  a  front  seat,  the  observed  of  all  observers.  He  sat 
leaned  sharply  forward,  eagerly  drinking  in  every  sentence 
that  fell  from  the  lips  of  an  eloquent,  old-fashioned  exhorter, 
and  did  not  fail  to  manifest  his  approbation  and  pleasure  at 
any  apt  exposition  of  Bible  truth  or  enunciation  of  broad 
Christian  doctrine.  At  the  close  of  each  night's  preaching  a 
.general  request  for  remarks  was  put  forth  by  the  exhorter, 
and  Carpenter  made  two  or  three  responses,  devoting  a  few 
minutes  to  explaining,  as  he  understood  them,  certain  pas 
sages  of  the  Bible,  and  applying  them  to  what  he  thought 
ought  to  be  the  true  code  of  Christianity.  These  brief  re 
marks  attracted  public  attention  because  of  the  freshness  and 
beauty  of  their  expression  and  the  soundness  of  their  logic. 

Shortly  after  this,  during  his  months  of  blindness,  Carpenter 
had  the  Bible  read  to  him  by  the  hour.  It  is  probable  that 
all  the  favorite  chapters  from  which  he  quoted  freely  without 
reference  to  the  text,  in  after  life,  were  fixed  upon  his  memory 
during  that  period.  But  he  never  ceased  to  resort  to  its 
pages,  and  when  at  home  frequently  read  from  the  New  Tes 
tament  those  passages  which  he  declared  contained  the  most 
profound  philosophy,  the  most  perfect  law,  the  greatest  liter 
ary  skill  and  the  most  lucid  statements  that  had  ever  been 
given  to  man. 

So  familiar  was  he  with  the  very  spirit  of  Holy  Writ  that 
in  court  or  upon  the  rostrum  he  could  seize  upon  matters 
that  came  up  unexpectedly,  and  clothe  them,  like  the  magic 
appearance  of  the  rainbow  in  a  storm,  with  the  revered 
vestments,  the  sanctified  halo,  of  Divine  Scripture. 

FAVORITE  DIVINES. 

Carpenter  often  said  that  upon  the  evidence,  judicially  con 
sidered,  he  was,  and  could  be,  nothing  less  than  an  orthodox 
Christian  in  his  religious  beliefs.  He  was  familiar  with 

O 

nearly  all  the  religions  of  the  world,  knew  many  divines 
well — some  of    them  intimately — and    loved  to  entertain 
35 


546  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

them.  He  was  strongly  attached  to  the  eccentric  and  able 
Father  James  Cook  Richmond,  whose  murderers  he  went  a 
thousand  miles  to  prosecute,  and  was  an  active  supporter  of 
him  and  his  church.  He  was,  perhaps,  more  intimate  with 
Hugh  Miller  Thompson,1  now  assistant  bishop  of  Mississippi, 
and  was  on  very  friendly  terms  with  Dr.  De  Koven  and  the 
professors  of  Nashota  House.  Although  he  mingled  freely 
with  the  Episcopal  church,  and  entertained  its  divines,  he 
was  very  fond  of  the  late  Archbishop  Henni,  and  often  said 
if  he  should  ever  join  any  church  it  would  be  the  Roman 
Catholic. 

LETTER  TO  DAVID  SWING. 

Some  months  before  his  death  Carpenter  wrote  a  letter  to 
David  Swing,  of  Chicago,  upon  the  subject  of  religion.  Un 
fortunately,  Prof.  Swing's  publishers  destroyed  the  original 
letter,  but  in  one  of  his  sermons  an  extract  is  preserved: 

Whoever  will  read  Cicero's  Twilight  Speculations  about  "  Duty  and  the 
Future  Life,"  remembering  that  perhaps  he  was  the  fullest  man  of  antiq 
uity,  the  ripest  scholar  and  student  of  the  highest  period  of  Roman  civil 
ization;  and  remembering  that  from  the  birth  of  Caesar  to  the  birth  of 
Christ  the  only  change  that  came  to  civilization  was  a  decline,  and  that 
Jesus  belonged  to  an  out-of-the  way  people  —  a  people  apart  from  the  high 
tides  of  human  greatness  —  and  then  will  read  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
can  not,  I  apprehend,  escape  the  conclusion  that  the  difference  is  not  one  of 
degree  but  of  kind.  That  Jesu*,  surrounded  as  he  was,  could  have  pro 
mulgated  a  system  of  morals  embodying  all  that  is  most  valuable  in  the 
prior  life  of  the  world,  of  which  he  could  have  known  nothing,  and  to 
which  nineteen  centuries  of  civilization  have  been  unable  to  add  a  thought 
or  impart  an  ornament,  is  a  fact  not  to  be  explained  by  any  ridicule.2 


1  Carpenter  and  Thompson  spent  mvich  time  together  discussing  the  Bible, 
dissecting  the  religious  history  of  the  world,  and  imparting  new  ideas  to 
each  other.     Although  they  agreed  closely  in  their  general  beliefs,  it  was  a 
mutual  feast  to  dwell  upon  religious  topics  of  an  evening  until  long  after 
the  outside  world  had  sunk  to  slumber. 

2  The  following  letter  discloses  how  this  confession  was  drawn  from  Mr. 
Carpenter : 

CHICAGO,  Illinois,  July  18,  1883. 

DEAR  SIR: — Senator  Carpenter,   while  in  Washington,  read  in  some 
daily  a  sermon  of  mine  in  which  Christ  was  set  forth  as  the  great  moral 


547 


«I  BELIEVE  THIS.' 


In  a  volume  of  English  biographies  Carpenter  wrote  under 
the  following  passage  from  a  speech  of  Lord  Erskine  de 
scribing  how  God  will  judge  men  on  the  last  day,  these 
words,  "I  believe  this:" 

Holding  up  the  great  volumes  of  our  lives  in  his  hands,  and  regarding 
the  general  scope  of  them ;  if  He  discovers  benevolence,  charity  and  good 
will  beating  in  the  heart,  where  He  alone  can  look;  if  He  finds  that  our 
conduct,  though  often  forced  out  of  the  path  by  our  infirmities,  has  been  in 
general  well  directed;  His  all-searching  eye  will  assuredly  never  pursue  us 
into  those  little  corners  of  our  lives;  much  less  will  His  justice  select  them 
for  punishment,  without  the  general  context  of  our  existence,  by  which 
faults  may  be  sometimes  found  to  have  grown  out  of  virtues,  and  very 
many  of  our  heaviest  offenses  to  have  been  grafted  by  human  imperfection 
upon  the  best  and  kindest  of  our  affections. 

If  the  general  tenor  of  a  man's  life  be  such  as  I  have  described  it,  he  may 
walk  through  the  shadow  of  death,  with  all  his  faults  about  him,  with  as 
much  cheerfulness  as  in  the  common  paths  of  life;  because  he  knows,  that 
instead  of  a  stern  accuser  to  expose  before  the  Author  of  his  nature  those 
frail  passages  which  *  *  *  checker  the  volume  of  the  brightest  and 
best  spent  life,  His  mercy  will  obscure  them  from  the  eye  of  His  purity, 
and  our  repentance  blot  them  out  -forever. 

On  Monday  evening,  August  10,  1874,  Carpenter  was 
chosen  to  present  to  the  Young  Men's  Association,  of  Mil 
waukee,  Lydston's  portrait  of  the  late  Sidney  L.  Rood,  an 
eccentric  but  philanthropic  banker.  Rood  was  a  man  who 
carried  food  and  fuel  to  the  doors  of  the  poor  by  night  and 
in  secret,  and  in  closing  a  beautiful  tribute  to  his  noble  qual 
ities  Carpenter  affirmed  that  he  "  had  no  doubt  God  had 
seen  the  secret  charities  of  his  dead  friend  and  would  re 
ward  them  openly." 

Leader  of  the  human  family.  He  sat  down  and  wrote  me  a  large  four  or  six- 
page  le'.ter  regarding  the  divineness,  the  supra-human  quality  of  Jesus.  He 
was  fully  assured  that  Christ  was  not  simply  a  man. 

We  were  both  strangers  to  each  other,  but  in  some  train  of  deep  ponder 
ing  over  the  problems  of  faith  he  used  a  quiet  night  hour,  pei  haps,  in 
pouring  out  to  me  several  pages  of  his  life-long  convictions  and  oft-return 
ing  meditations.  With  kind  regards, 

DAVID  SWING. 


548  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

In  a  speech  delivered  when  the  corner-stone  of  the  Taylor 
Orphan  Asylum  was  laid,  Carpenter  exclaimed:  "  The  poor 
want  less  talk  and  more  bread;  the  world  needs  less  doc 
trine  and  more  religion;  less  of  form  and  more  of  substance; 
less  of  the  pretending  and  more  of  the  reality  of  Godliness 
and  charity." 

One  of  the  last  letters  he  wrote  to  his  sister,  Mrs.  Taylor, 
of  St.  Paul,  was  Si  answer  to  congratulations  from  her  on 
his  second  elevation  to  the  senate.  It  was  under  date  of  Jan 
uary  27,  1879,  and  among  other  beautiful  things  said:  "I 
have  always  regretted  that  our  paths  in  life  have  been  so 
divergent.  But  this  life  is  only  an  ante-chamber  to  the  great 
reunion  which  will  know  no  end,  in  the  good  time  coming." 

Those  who  thank  God  that  they  are  better  than  other 
men  may  say  what  they  please  about  the  technicalities  of 
Carpenter's  religion;  it  certainly  was  of  that  kind  which 
made  the  world  better  and  happier.  It  relieved  suffering  and 
want,  cheered  the  sorrowing  and  aided  the  unfortunate  — 
gave  him  hope  and  happiness  through  life  and  peace  and  faith 
at  the  coming  of  death.  What  creed  can  do  more? 

WITHOUT  MALICE 

It  may  be  claimed  that  Carpenter  was  the  best  example 
of  an  organization  without  malice  that  has  ever  appeared 
prominently  in  American  public  life.  Perfect  control  of  tem 
per  and  an  unending  flood  of  good  humor  under  all  circum 
stances  were  his  most  powerful  weapons  in  defeating  an 
aggressive  antagonist,  or  in  winning  the  sympathy  of  an 
audience.  The  Bible  proverb  that  "  He  that  ruleth  his  spirit 
is  greater  than  he  that  taketh  a  city,"  was  never  more  con 
spicuously  exemplified  than  in  Carpenter.  Of  this  quality 
Allen  G.  Thurman  has  said: 

And  what  a  wonderful  command  of  temper  he  possessed !  I  have  seen 
him  in  the  most  heated  discussions  in  the  senate,  in  committee,  and  at  the 
bar,  when  the  coolest  and  most  experienced  man  might  have  been  excused 
for  an  angry  word,  or,  at  least,  an  angry  look,  and  yet  I  can  not  recall  a 


WHO  IS   WITHOUT   SIN?  549 

single  instance  in  which  he  lost  his  temper.  Had  this  self-command  been 
the  result  of  a  cold  temperament,  a  want  of  proper  sensibility,  or  an  un 
feeling  heart,  it  would  afford  no  theme  for  commendation.  But  when  it 
was  found  in  a  man  of  an  ardent  nature,  of  the  keenest  sensibility,  and  of 
the  warmest  affections,  too  much  can  scarcely  be  said  in  its  praise. 

That  absolute  lack  of  rancor  was  a  perpetual  cheval-de- 
frise^  guarding  him  from  savage  attack  and  angry  retort 
where  others  would  have  been  whelmed  with  both.  The 
Tartar  warriors  often  imprint  their  names  upon  their  poi 
soned  arrows.  If  Carpenter  sent  forth  arrows,  he,  too,  sent 
his  name  upon  them,  that  the  arm  which  shot  them  might 
be  known;  but  they  were  winged  with  pleasantry  and  good 
humor  —  not  dipped  in  malevolence  or  venom.  None  of  his 
numerous  victories  were  ever  followed  by  the  barbarian 
shout  of  "  Vce  victes!"  Friends  and  foes  met  equal  consid 
eration,  and  to  the  conquered  he  was  especially  kind. 

A  venerable  sage,  Andrew  E.  Elmore,  rarely  visits  the 
capitol  at  Madison  without  Contemplating  a  large  portrait  of 
Carpenter  which  hangs  in  the  building,  always  exclaiming 
with  tenderness :  "  Oh,  but  Matt,  had  a  good  heart,  a  good 
heart!"  A  distinguished  writer  has  said  that  "if  Carpenter 
had  been  born  a  king  he  would  have  ruled  his  subjects  with 
a  sceptre  of  love.  In  his  right  hand  he  ever  carried  gentle 
peace  to  silence  envious  tongues.  All  the  world  knew  his 
faults  as  well  as  his  virtues.  There  was  nothing  hidden  in 
his  nature.  The  life  he  lived  and  the  battles  he  fought  were 
as  on  the  mountain-tops,  still  open  to  view,  and  where  the 
sunshine  of  his  victories  still  gleams."  Only  the  eagle  and 
the  reptile  can  reach  the  mountain-top;  certainly  no  man 
ever  had  less  in  him  of  the  reptile  than  Carpenter. 

WHO  IS  WITHOUT  SIN? 

This  narrative  has  not  proceeded  upon  the  presumption 
that  its  subject  was  without  faults.  That  would  make  him 
supra-human.  He  had  them,  indeed,  as  do  we  all;  but  they 
were  of  the  head,  never  of  the  heart.  "  As  God  cast  faults 


55O  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

upon  woman,"  says  Jules  Michelet,  "  to  make  her  excellent 
attributes  show  to  better  advantage,"  so  nature  left  small 
and  unimportant  defects  in  Carpenter's  character  that  his 
genius,  his  kindness  and  his  charity  might  shine  forth  with 
increased  brightness  and  splendor.  This  beautiful  green 
earth  hath  rocks  and  desert  places,  the  sun  hath  spots  upon 
his  resplendent  disk,  and  God  hath  said,  "  There  is  no  man 
that  sinneth  not,  no  not  one" 

Carpenter  was  remarkable  for  many  things,  but  not  for 
the  number  or  size  of  his  transgressions.  The  majority  of 
mankind  ate  more  noted  for  the  size  and  number  of  their 
transgressions  than  for  patriotism,  kindliness  and  unstrained 
charity.  Therefore,  to  bestow  any  special  remembrance 
upon  those  small  trespasses  of  our  subject,  which,  according 
to  his  great  mind  and  his  great  career,  were  so  much  less  con 
spicuous  than  our  own  —  than  those  of  the  masses  —  would 
be  an  injustice  and  contrary  to  the  teachings  of  the  Master 
of  Nazareth.  We  all  may  do  worse,  but  none  can  do 
better  than  to  follow  His  imperishable  example.  "  For  if 
ye  forgive  men  their  trespasses,  your  Heavenly  Father  will 
also  forgive  you.  But  if  ye  forgive  not  men  their  tres 
passes,  neither  will  your  Heavenly  Father  forgive  your  tres 
passes." 

"  I  am  that  I  am,  and  they  that  level 

At  my  abuses,  reckon  up  their  own ; 
I  may  be  straight,  though  they  themselves  be  bevel  — 
By  their  rank  thoughts  my  deeds  must  not  be  shown." 

So,  let  those  who  are  perfect  point  out  the  shallow  blem 
ishes  of  Carpenter  —  the  little  transgressions  that  mar  his 
character  only  as  the  deformity  of  its  smallest  leaf  doth 
wreck  the  symmetry  of  the  mighty  oak. 

WORLDLY  POSSESSIONS. 

Some  men,  with  Carpenter's  commanding  talents  and 
great  success  at  the  bar,  would  have  died  millionaires.  But 
he  possessed  none  of  the  sordidness  that  is  necessary  to  make 


DOMESTIC   LIFE.  55 1 

mere  Croesuses.  If  he  had,  he  would  not  have  reached  a 
seat  in  the  senate  of  the  United  States,  nor  died  the  associate 
of  the  great  and  the  defender  of  the  masses.  If  he  had  been 
a  simple  money-getter,  he  would  not  have  left  his  business 
during  the  Rebellion  to  journey  up  and  down  among  the 
people,  teaching  them  the  duty  of  the  hour  without  fee  or 
reward,  like  John  the  Baptist,  who  fed  upon  locusts  and  wild 
honey  as  he  preached  the  gospel  to  the  Israelites. 

Although  he  could  exclaim,  with  Lord  Bacon,  that  riches, 
like  the  baggage  of  an  army,  "  hindereth  the  march ;  yea, 
and  the  care  of  it  sometimes  loseth  or  disturbeth  the  vic 
tory,"  Carpenter  nevertheless  left,  in  addition  to  the  family 
homestead  in  Milwaukee,  a  comfortable  competence  for  his 
wife  and  children. 

This  homestead,  an  old-fashioned  brick,  contains  Carpen 
ter's  fine  miscellaneous  library  of  about  six  thousand  vol 
umes,  the  large  library  table  he  used  in  his  Washington 
office,  two  chairs  from  the  old  house  of  representatives,  two 
chairs  formerly  belonging  to  Henry  Clay,  and  articles  of 
vertu —  paintings,  studies  and  the  like  —  collected  and  fancied 
by  him.  But  he  gave  to  his  friends  more  than  he  kept  for 
himself,  and,  after  his  death,  a  chair  that  was  once  the  prop 
erty  of  Chief  Justice  John  Marshall,  was  presented  by 
Mrs.  Carpenter  to  Jeremiah  S.  Black.  The  law  library, 
except  less  than  a  thousand  volumes  selected  by  Geo.  F.  Ed 
munds  for  the  future  use  of  Paul  D.  Carpenter,  was  sold 
after  Carpenter's  death,  at  public  auction  in  New  York. 

DOMESTIC  LIFE. 

It  was  within  the  sacred  precincts  of  the  family  circle,  be 
yond  all  rightful  view  of  the  public,  that  the  ethereal  mildness 
of  Carpenter's  temper  and  the  fathomless  goodness  of  his 
heart  found  their  fullest  play.  His  little  flock  comprised,  as 
we  have  incidentally  seen,  the  wife  (to  whom  he  paid  court 
in  her  childhood)  and  two  children  —  Lilian  and  Paul  Dil- 
lingham.  Two  children  died  in  infancy. 


552  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

If  it  were  not  sacrilegious  to  invade,  after  death,  those  ten 
der  secrets  which  are  so  carefully  guarded  from  the  world 
in  life,  a  chapter  of  rare  loveliness  might  be  compiled  from 
the  letters  to  his  wife  and  children.  The  few  that  blossom 
along  the  pages  of  this  volume  in  connection  with  great  his 
torical  facts  are  but  a  small  prefigurement  of  the  hundreds 
sent  out  from  his  heaviest  labors  and  deepest  vigils,  all  bear 
ing  the  burdens  of  love  and  solicitude. 

At  home  his  wit  and  playfulness  were  unconfined  and  his 
indulgence  unlimited.  "  Pauley  boy  "  and  "  Pet "  luxuriated 
in  everything  in  the  way  of  books,  pictures,  dolls,  playthings 
and  amusements  it  was  proper  for  them  to  have,  and  almost 
every  letter,  in  his  absence,  contained  a  liberal  inclosure  of 
money  "  for  soda  water  "  and  to  "  spend  as  they  pleased." 
To  his  wife  he  confided  his  professional  engagements,  politi 
cal  plans  and  senatorial  triumphs,  and  if  his  letters  to  her 
might  be  published  many  interesting  state  secrets  would  be 
divulged,  and  many  historical  facts  shorn  of  their  mystery 
and  falsehood. 

As  our  longing  for  immortality  might  be  destroyed  by  un 
veiling  the  bliss  of  Heaven,  so  the  beauty  of  Carpenter's 
perfect  domestic  felicity  would  be  marred  by  exposing  it  to 
the  common  view.  Here,  then,  shall  we  leave  him  — the  ten 
der  husband  and  the  indulgent,  proud  and  loving  father. 


NOTES   AND   ANECDOTES.  553 

CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

NOTES  AND  ANECDOTES. 

The  wit  of  Carpenter  was  spontaneous.  He  never  bela 
bored  himself  to  strain  out  puns  or  forcibly  carve  jokes  from 
whole  cloth.  The  scintillations  of  his  humor  only  shone 
forth  as  a  never-absent  part  of  the  flow  of  his  conversations 
and  addresses,  as  water  only  sparkles  when  it  leaps  and 
dashes.  If  the  torrent  be  gathered  into  a  pool,  its  shimmer, 
pearls  and  flashes  disappear;  so  any  attempt  to  present  the 
wit  of  Carpenter  as  a  separate  feast  destroys  its  lambent 
beauty. 

His  private  conversation,  his  briefs,  cases  and  pleas,  his 
legal  arguments,  and  all  his  public  addresses,  glitter  with  sly 
humor  and  unexpected  wit,  while  at  social  gatherings  his 
satires,  burlesques  and  ingenuities  captivated  the  throng. 
But  as  they  were  all  an  inseparable  portion  of  his  every-day 
life,  it  is  impossible  to  bring  many  of  his  conceits  under  a 
single  view. 

Once  while  discussing  theology  with  an  eminent  Catholic 
divine,  he  observed  that  "  purgatory  was  merely  a  motion  for 
a  new  trial." 

"  Put  him  out,"  shouted  the  audience  when  a  person  near 
the  door  was  interrupting  with  impertinent  inquiries  one  of 
Carpenter's  speeches.  "  No,"  he  retorted  instantly,  "  don't  put 
him  out,  change  his  drink." 

When  the  great  war  between  the  people  and  the  railway 
corporations  was  in  progress,  the  railways  claimed  to  have 
"  inalienable  rights."  As  these  are  natural  rights  and  come 
alone  from  the  Creator,  Carpenter  retorted  that  "  matrimony 
was  the  only  corporation,  so  far  as.  he  knew,  ever  created  by 
Divinity." 

As  he  was  emerging  from  the  court-room  in  Milwaukee, 
after  making  an  argument  in  an  important  cause,  a  boggy 


554  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

little  Irishman  called  out:  "  Misther  Cairpinter,  yez  ought  to 
charge  yer  cloients  nothing  for  yer  argyments."  "  Why  so?  " 
asked  Carpenter  curiously.  "  Bekase,"  said  Pat  in  a  religious 
tone, "  yez  do  it  so  aisy,  it  isn't  roight."  This  Carpenter  always 
regarded  as  one  of  the  highest  compliments  ever  paid  him. 

At  a.  very  early  day  the  Rev.  Alfred  Eddy  came  from 
Niles,  Mich.,  and  opened  what  was  termed  a  "  blue-light " 
Presbyterian  church1  in  Beloit.  He  was  a  man  of  robust 
mind  and  good  sense  —  what  might  be  called  a  stout 
preacher.  Carpenter  liked  him,  and  frequently  listened  to  his 
sermons.  Finally  he  asked  the  dominie  to  expound  from  the 
pulpit  certain  portions  of  the  Bible.  "  You  write  me  some 
sermons  on  those  subjects  and  I'll  preach  them,"  was  the  re 
sponse.  The  ofler  was  instantly  accepted,  and  for  several 
Sundays  Rev.  Eddy,  as  an  old  settler  has  deposed,  "  gave  his 
hearers  the  best  talks  ever  heard  in  Beloit."  He  himself 
thought  so  highly  of  the  discourses  that  he  made  a  vigorous 
attempt  to  have  Carpenter  abandon  the  law  and  enter  the 
ministry,  but,  as  we  know,  without  success,  though  frequently 
thereafter  he  had  the  benefit  in  his  sermons  of  Carpenter's 
thoughts,  arguments  and  writings. 

In  1854  Jonathan  E.  Arnold,  a  noted  criminal  lawyer  of 
early  days,  engaged  Carpenter  to  aid  him  in  defending  a 
man  of  means  but  of  unsavory  reputation  who  had  been 
charged  with  a  grave  offense.  The  trial  was  held  before  a 
judge  in  the  interior  of  Wisconsin  who  was  noted  more  for 
the  exalted  notions  he  entertained  of  his  position  than  for 
great  knowledge  of  the  law.  The  judge,  not  having  an  ac 
quaintance  with  him,  thought  Carpenter  was  some  country 
lawyer  who  had  entered  the  case  for  the  purpose  of  receiv 
ing  lessons  in  criminal  practice  from  Mr.  Arnold. 

He  opened  for  the  defense  in  an  unpretentious  way,  ex 
plaining  what  he  expected  to  prove  and  citing  law  and  rul 
ings  governing  the  admissibility  of  certain  evidence.  The 
court,  unable  to  control  himself  while  a  young  stranger  laid 

1  Now  the  First  Presbyterian  church. 


NOTES   AND   ANECDOTES.  555 

down  rules  of  evidence  for  his  guidance,  exclaimed :  "  I 
see,  sir,  you  do  not  know  the  opinions  of  this  court  upon 
such  matters."  Slightly  surprised  Carpenter  replied:  "I 
confess,  your  honor,  that  I  am  less  familiar  with  the  private 
views  of  this  court  than  with  the  law  in  this  case."  "  I  fine 
y©u,  sir,"  shrieked  the  judge,  pounding  vehemently  upon 
the  rickety  old  bench  behind  which  he  was  sitting,  "  I  fine 
you,  sir,  ten  dollars  for  contempt  of  court  and  disbar  you 
from  practice  until  it  shall  be  paid!" 

Without  the  slightest  apparent  discomfiture  Carpenter 
drew  a  gold  eagle  from  his  pocket,  placed  it  on  the  table, 
and,  half-turning  to  the  audience,  said  in  a  bland  and  pleas 
ant  voice:  "I  am  a  stranger  in  these  parts  and  not  familiar 
with  your  market  prices;  but  it  strikes  me  that  this  is  a 
mighty  small  amount  of  cash  for  an  almighty  sight  of  con 
tempt!"  Shouts  of  laughter  followed  this  sally,  during 
which  Carpenter  withdrew  from  the  crowded  and  dingy 
court-room.  Mr.  Arnold  quietly  slipped  the  gold  into  his 
pocket  and  the  trial  proceeded.  After  adjournment  of  court 
for  evening  Arnold  brought  the  furious  judge  and  the  daunt 
less  young  barrister  together,  the  little  unpleasantness  was 
amicably  adjusted,  and  the  two  remained  friends  until  death 
adjourned  the  former's  court  forever. 

Jeremiah  S.  Black,  the  great  advocate,  was  an  able  chewer 
of  tobacco.  The  deeper  he  went  into  an  argument  the 
more  vigorously  he  chewed,  and  the  more  he  chewed  the 
stronger,  more  aggressive  and  more  successful  he  became. 
In  the  Me  Cardie  case,  in  which  Carpenter  and  Black  were 
of  opposing  counsel,  the  latter  had  begun,  as  the  cause  pro 
gressed,  to  chew  and  strengthen  and  strengthen  and  chew. 
Observing  this,  Carpenter  leaned  over  to  Lyman  Trumbull 
and  whispered  loud  enough  to  be  heard  everywhere: 
"They've  got  us.  Black  has  filled  one  spittoon  and  just 
sent  for  another." 

Among  the  things  which  Carpenter  repeated  with  great 
relish  was  a  remark  made,  by  his  son  Paul  when  a  very 


556  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

small  boy.  At  a  social  evening  gathering  a  guest  inquired, 
"  Paul,  what  do  you  intend  to  do  when  you  grow  to  be  a 
man?" 

"  Well,"  answered  the  boy,  "  I  should  like  to  be  a  circus- 
man,  but  I  suppose  I  shall  have  to  be  a  senator." 

While  absent  upon  legal  business  and  his  partner,  Ryan, 
was  closeted  in  intense  thought  upon  an  intricate  case,  a  map- 
peddler  entered  Carpenter's  office.  His  clerk  explained  to 
the  agent  that  he  made  no  purchases  and  it  would  be  useless  to 
unfold  the  map.  "  But  is  there  no  one  else  in  these  offices?" 
pleaded  the  intruder.  The  clerk  replied  that  there  was,  and 
without  further  ado  opened  an  adjoining  door  and  introduced 
the  fellow  to  the  great  but  eccentric  jurist. 

Mr.  Peddler  was  a  human  caricature  worthy  of  better  treat 
ment  than  he  subsequently  received.  His  legs  were  long  and 
his  pantaloons  short;  his  frame  was  large  and  his  coat  small; 
his  eyes  resembled  those  of  a  cat-fish;  his  hair  hung  tangled 
on  his  shoulders,  and  his  long,  bony  fingers  grasped  opposite 
edges  of  an  outstretched  map.  Ryan  looked  at  the  uncouth 
intruder  a  moment  and  then,  flying  at  him  like  a  hornet, 
drove  him  out  with  more  haste  than  elegance.  The  clerk  was 
alarmed  at  the  extraordinary  spectacle  —  the  great  lawyer 
and  the  great  map-peddler  gyrating  through  the  room  to 
ward  the  hallway. 

The  poor  clerk  did  not  know  that  above  all  things  on 
earth  Ryan  detested  and  hated  peddlers.  In  less  than  two 
minutes  Ryan  came  rushing  out  of  his  room  with  a  letter 
directed  to  Carpenter,  and  throwing  down  ten  dollars,  ex 
claimed  in  a  manner  denoting  that  something  of  importance 
was  at  stake:  "Take  that  letter  to  Mr.  Carpenter  in  .the 
shortest  possible  time." 

The  clerk  dashed  out  and  reached  the  depot  just  in  time 
to  take  the  first  train  for  Janesville.  He  arrived  in  due  time, 
and  although  Carpenter  was  in  the  midst  of  a  legal  argu 
ment,  the  contents  of  the  letter  were  supposed  to  be  of  such 
grave  import  that  he  rushed  forward  and  delivered  the  mes- 


NOTES   AND   ANECDOTES.  557 

sage.  Carpenter  dropped  the  thread  of  his  address  a  mo 
ment  to  open  the  billet  and  read:  "Mr.  Carpenter:  —  I  wish 
you  would  keep  your  damned  fool  out  of  my  office.  E.  G. 
RYAN." 

In  order  to  get  even  with  his  partner,  Carpenter  caused  it 
to  be  reported  to  Ryan  that  one  of  their  distinguished  clients 
had  had  born  to  him  a  child  that  was  half- white.  He  ex 
pressed  a  desire  that  Ryan  should  go  and  see  what  could  be 
done  to  keep  the  unfortunate  matter  out  of  the  newspapers. 
Ryan  went,  and  putting  all  his  genius  to  its  utmost  strain, 
broached  the  subject  to  the  father  of  the  child.  Amidst 
great  embarrassment  he  learned  that  the  new-comer  was  a 
perfect  Caucasian  in  color,  health  and  brightness.  Return 
ing  in  a  towering  rage  he  met  Carpenter's  quiet  remark:  "I 
supposed  you  knew  the  other  half  of  the  child  was  white, 
too." 

Many  years  ago  Carpenter  described  the  late  Alex.  H. 
Stephens,  who  was  a  mere  child  in  stature,  in  this  wise: 
"  An  empty  coach  halted  at  the  treasury  department  and 
Aleck  Stephens  got  out  of  it." 

He  was  of  opinion  that  President  Hayes  should  have  been 
an  insurance  agent,  on  account  of  his  extraordinary  ability  to 
get  out  policies. 

He  once  referred  to  a  famous  secretary  of  the  navy  as  "  a 
great  constitutional  lawyer  among  sailors  and  a  great  sailor 
among  constitutional  lawyers." 

During  the  trial  of  an  important  cause  at  Kenosha,  Wis 
consin,  the  opposing  counsel,  Orson  S.  Head,  for  some  time 
kept  putting  what  Carpenter  denominated  as  "  outrageously 
leading  questions."  The  spectators  marveled,  as  he  bore 
with  Head  for  a  half-hour  in  silence.  He  made  no  formal 
objection,  as  is  usual  on  such  occasions,  but  after  Head  had 
proceeded  so  far  as  to  make  his  programme  palpable,  Car 
penter  arose,  and,  in  that  jocose  and  genial  way  which  mel 
lowed  all  surroundings,  observed:  "I  have  no  objection, 
your  honor,  to  Brother  Head's  way  of  managing  his  side  of 


558  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

this  case ;  but  I  do  think  it  would  conduce  to  the  orderly  ad 
ministration  of  justice,  if  he  would  at  least  filter  the  testi 
mony  through  his  witness ! "  Head  subsided,  and  Carpenter 
gained  much  more  than  would  have  been  possible  by  formal 
objection. 

Some  years  ago,  while  prostrate  with  a  dangerous  fever, 
he  was  seized  with  an  almost  unbearable  pain.  Turning  to 
the  late  Surgeon-General  Wolcott,  his  physician,  he  asked 
the  cause  of  it.  On  being  told  that  it  arose  from  a  stoppage 
of  the  colon,  his  irrepressible  mirth  triumphed  over  the  deep 
est  of  human  torture,  and  he  exclaimed:  "Then  it  isn't  a 
full  stop!" 

In  1850,  one  Andrew  R.  Mosher,  a  blacksmith  of  Beloit, 
gave  his  note  for  a  certain  sum  to  John  M.  Keep.  Mosher 
made  declaration  that  he  would  pay  the  note  when  due,  if 
then  living  He  didn't  pay  it,  and  Keep  composed  and  had 
published  a  notice  of  Mosher's  death.  The  latter  brought 
suit  against  the  former  for  libel.  The  innuendoes  of  the 
complaint,  containing  the  obituary,  are  extracted: 

[COMMUNICATED.] 

"  Died  in  this  village  on  the  I5th  inst,  after  a  painful  illness  which  he  bore 
with  Christian  fortitude  and  resignation  "  (meaning  said  plaintiff  was  a  hypo 
crite),  "A.  R.  Mosher,  Esq."  (said  plaintiff  meaning),  "long  and  favorably 
known  in  this  community  as  an  active  and  energetic  business  man  of  the 
strictest  integrity  "  (meaning  that  said  plaintiff  was  a  dishonest  man  and 
dishonest  in  business  and  a  man  of  no  integrity)  "and  the  author  of  Lec 
tures  on  Baptism."  (Meaning  to  ridicule  said  plaintiff  as  a  religionist  and 
as  an  advocate  of  and  lecturer  on  baptism  )  "  In  early  life  he  was  favorably 
known  in  Buffalo,  Rochester  and  other  eastern  cities  as  an  actor  of  decided 
merit  upon  ithe  stage  (meaning  to  ridicule  said  plaintiff  for  having  been  a 
comedian,  and  further  meaning  that  said  plaintiff  had  been  a  comedian,  and 
as  such  meaning  to  expose  him  to  the  jeers  of  his  neighbors),  "  and  his  old 
friends  in  that  region  "  (meaning  Rochester  and  Buffalo  in  the  state  of  New 
York)  remember  his  popular  debuts  in  the  character  of  Othello  and  Richard 
III."  (Meaning  that  at  Buffalo  and  Rochester  aforesaid  he  had  been  the 
laughing-stock  of  the  community  as  a  comedian.)  "  Peace  to  his  remains." 
(Meaning  the  remains  of  said  plaintiff.)  "  mj~  Buffalo  and  Rochester  papers 
please  copy." 


NOTES    AND    ANECDOTES.  559 

To  this  novel  complaint  Carpenter  set  out  sixteen  causes 
of  demurrer.  James  R.  Doolittle  was  on  the  bench  when  the 
argument  on  demurrer  was  had,  and  could  not  conceal  his 
mirth  as  the  reading  of  the  sixteen  causes  proceeded.  Among 
them  were  these: 

3.  There  is  no  statement  or  colloquium  in  the  said  declaration  to  show 
that,  until  the  time  of  the  publication  of  the  alleged  libel,  the  plaintiff  was 
even  suspected  or  supposed  to  be  dead. 

14.  The  declaration  only  avers  that   "  the  plaintiff  is  a  living  citizen," 
which  in  no  way  disproves  the  communication,  since  he  that  was  dead  arose 
and  lived  in  obedience  to  the  command,  "  Lazarus  come  forth."     The  dec 
laration  should  have  said  the  plaintiff  from  his  birth  had  been  and  then 
was  a  living  man. 

15.  It  is  not  stated  in  what  sense  the  words  were  written.     The  defendant 
may  have  intended,  in  saying  the  plaintiff  was  dead,  to  say  that  he  was 
"dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,"  a  state  and  condition  which  in  no  way  injures 
a  blacksmith  in  his  trade  and  profession. 

Although  the  fact  appeared  that  Mosher  had  indeed  suf 
fered  by  reason  of  the  publication  of  the  death  notice,  Car 
penter's  demurrer  and  argument  made  the  complaint  so 
ridiculous,  and  carried  the  court  and  everybody  else  into  such 
convulsions  of  humor,  that  a  judgment  of  discontinuance  was 
obtained  with  costs  against  the  complainant. 

Carpenter's  life-long  wit  could  not  be  suppressed  even  by  the 
approach  of  death,  and  several  times  it  lit  up  the  surrounding 
gloom  with  the  old-time  brilliancy.  While  the  final  conges 
tion  was  at  the  height  of  its  destructive  progress,  he  drolly 
referred  to  a  recent  state  dinner  spread  with  no  drinks  but 
ice-water  and  frozen  punch,  declaring:  "I  do  believe  it  was 
there  I  caught  this  cold." 

The  subjoined  letter,  arriving  too  late  for  use  in  the  proper 
chapter,  is  worth  inserting  at  almost  any  point: 

CHARLES  CITY,  IOWA,  November  10,  1883. 

DEAR  SIR: — Matt.  H.  Carpenter  —  I  always  knew  him  as  Merritt  — 
tried  one  of  his  very  earliest  suits  for  me.  I  was  eight  years  his  senior, 
and  he  conducted  my  first  cause.  The  suit  was  about  three  dollars  only. 
It  was  not  brought  for  money  but  for  revenge;  and  I,  the  defendant,  being 
strong-willed,  was  determined  not  to  give  an  inch.  I  was  sued  to  More- 


560  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

town  Hollow  (where  Carpenter  was  born  and  lived  until  he  was  thirteen 
years  old),  some  ten  miles  from  Waterbury,  where  both  plaintiff  and  myself 
resided,  because  the  plaintiff  dared  not  bring  it  in  our  place  of  residence.  I 
went  to  Paul  Dillingham  for  counsel.  After  hearing  my  case  he  said : 
"  Pay  it;  although  you  are  in  the  right,  it  will  cost  more  than  he  claims  if 
you  beat  him."  I  told  Mr.  D.  I  did  not  care  if  it  did,  I  would  not  pay  it. 
He  replied:  "  I  will  pay  it."  I  returned,  "  You  shall  not  pay  it.  I  am  going 
to  fight  it  out  on  the  square  if  it  costs  me  five  hundred  dollars ;  and  if  you 
do  not  wish  to  go  into  it  I  will  get  some  one  else."  Mr.  D.  said :  "  You 
know  it  is  small  potatoes  for  me,  but,  if  you  are  determined  to  fight  it  out, 
Merritt  Carpenter  can  try  the  suit.  He  can  get  his  grandfather,  Cephas 
Carpenter,  to  assist  him."  Carpenter  was  sitting  by  and  heard  our  talk.  He 
spoke  up:  "  I  would  like  to  go  and  do  my  best.  I  think  grandfather  and 
myself  can  carry  our  point."  So,  on  the  day  of  trial,  I  took  my  team  and 
some  ten  witnesses  and  Merritt,  who  had  his  subpoenas  ready  to  serve  on  all 
the  witnesses,  so  as  to  make  all  the  costs  we  could.  We  had  the  law  on 
our  side,  as  a  plaintiff  in  a  suit  could  not  collect  any  more  cost  than  he 
recovered  debt;  so,  if  he  had  beaten  us,  he  could  not  get  over  three  dollars; 
and  he  was  liable  to  pay  the  whole  cost  if  defendant  should  get  the  case. 
That  was  the  law ;  so,  if  we  should  get  whipped,  it  would  not  be  bad. 

We  started  for  Moretown  Hollow  and  arrived  there  at  the  hour  appointed. 
Carpenter  jumped  out  of  the  sleigh  and  ran  over  to  his  grandfather's.  He 
came  back  in  a  few  minutes  and  said  that  Phillips  had  engaged  his  grand 
father  to  assist  Roger  Buckly,  a  very 'smart  lawyer;  "but,"  says  Merritt,  "  I 
am  enough  for  both  of  them ;  so  come  ahead  and  we  will  go  for  them." 

We  went  into  the  court-room,  and  there  sat  the  justice,  Alpheus  C. 
Nobles,  ready  to  try  the  case.  Merritt  told  the  justice  that  he  wanted  a 
jury.  Mr.  Nobles  sent  for  the  constable,  Uriah  Howe,  who  came  and 
drew  the  jury,  and  we  got  ready  to  proceed  at  one  o'clock. 

The  case  was  this :  I  was  at  work  near  a  tavern  kept  by  Drew,  with  my 
team,  and  broke  my  set  of  whifHetrees.  I  went  over  to  the  tavern  and 
asked  Mr.  Drew  if  he  had  a  set  that  he  could  lend  me.  He  said  he  had, 
and  went  and  got  them,  not  knowing  but  what  he  owned  them.  The  next 
day  I  saw  Phillips,  and  he  wanted  to  know  if  I  had  his  whiffletrees.  I  told 
him  I  did  not  know;  1  borrowed  the  set  of  Mr.  Drew.  Phillips  said  they 
were  his,  and  he  would  sue  Drew  for  them.  I  returned  the  whiffletrees 
immediately;  but,  instead  of  suing  Drew,  Phillips  sued  me.  He  was  of 
fended  some  six  months  before  because  I  collected  a  bill  that  he  owed 
me,  and  commenced  this  suit  to  get  revenge.  I  was  willing  to  meet  him, 
and  wanted  to  beat  him  at  all  events.  That  was  the  reason  I  wanted  Paul 
Dillingham,  as  he  was  the  best  lawyer  in  the  state. 

Merritt,  in  cross-questioning  the  witnesses,  had  to  contend  with  both  law 
yers.  They  told  the  witnesses  not  to  answer  him,  and  he  appealed  to  the 
court,  and  in  every  case  the  court  gave  the  decision  in  our  favor. 


NOTES   AND   ANECDOTES.  561 

When  he  brought  my  witnesses  on  the  stand  the  counsel  on  the  other 
side  made  Carpenter  state  what  he  was  going  to  prove  by  them  before  they 
could  proceed  to  testify.  Then  the  other  lawyers  would  object  and  argue 
the  points,  and  Carpenter  would  answer  them  and  make  his  points  in  law. 

Both  parties  had  to  look  in  the  statutes,  and  Merritt  could  find  his  laws 
and  sections  in  one-half  the  time  required  by  the  opposite  counsel,  and  in 
every  case  the  justice  gave  him  the  verdict.  It  was  very  interesting  to  the 
lookers-on.  Merritt's  grandfather  had  been  stopping  him  and  making  state 
ments  as  to  law  and  the  testimony,  and  he  had  been  on  his  feet  a  number 
of  times,  until  he  was  vexed.  He  finally  kept  his  seat,  and,- looking  up  in 
the  face  of  his  grandfather  (who  was  a  very  tall  man),  he  said:  "Grand 
father,  how  can  you  lie  so?"  Tflat  brought  the  court  and  judge  down  to 
great  laughter,  and  it  took  the  court  some  time  to  restore  order. 

Finally  the  case  was  given  to  the  jury,  and  after  fifteen  minutes  a  verdict 
came  in  for  Merritt.  Then  there  was  a  lively  demonstration  in  his  favor. 
People  came  forward  and  shook  hands  with  him,  saying  his  management 
of  the  trial  was  better  than  that  of  the  opposing  counsel. 

I  consider  this  remarkable,  as  the  boy  appeared  before  an  audience  of 
his  former  playmates  and  schoolmates.  I  then  thought  he  was  the  keenest 

young  man  I  had  ever  seen. 

JOSEPH  L.  ATHERTON. 

When  Carpenter  was  comparatively  a  new-comer  in  Beloit 
he  attended  church  on  a  certain  occasion  and  occupied  a  front 
seat.  The  minister,  to  illustrate  retributive  justice,  was 
preaching  from  that  portion  of  the  Old  Testament  which 
records  the  intercession  of  Esther  with  King  Ahasuerus 
for  her  people,  the  Jews,  whose  pending  destruction  had 
been  brought  about  by  the  machinations  of  Haman,  who 
also  hated  Mordecai  and  had  erected  a  gallows  upon  which 
to  hang  him.  The  preacher  with  great  earnestness  and 
force  had  carried  his  audience  up  to  the  point  where  Haman 
went  in  to  the  feast  and  to  beg  the  king,  before  Esther's  face, 
to  hang  Mordecai.  The  audience  was  deeply  interested,  and 
Carpenter  sat  drinking  in  every  sentence.  Now,  the  preacher, 
with  dramatic  effect,  swiftly  pictured  the  reverses  of  the  in 
triguer  Haman,  who  was  hanged  with  short  shrift  upon  the 
gallows  he  had  erected  for  Mordecai.  At  the  climax  Car 
penter,  forgetting  everything  but  the  intensity  of  his  feelings, 
slapped  his  knee  sharply  and  cried  out:  "Good!  Served 
him  right,  by  George ! "  The  audience  was  startled  at  Car- 
36 


562  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

penter's  novel  way  of  saying  Amen,  but  the  exhorter  appre 
ciated  it,  and  from  that  time  forth  was  his  firm  friend. 

That  peculiar  characteristic  which  is  popularly  termed 
absent-mindedness,  but  which  is  in  fact  busy-mindedness, 
was  particularly  conspicuous  in  Judge  Black.  Frequently, 
when  invited  out  to  dine,  he  would  entirely  forget  the  en 
gagement,  making  his  vacant  chair  a  notable  feature  of  the 
occasion.  Several  times  he  had  thus  failed  to  keep  his  din 
ner  engagements  with  Carpenter.  Therefore,  determined 
that  such  a  calamity  should  not  occur  again,  Carpenter  began 
early  in  the  morning  of  a  day  that  Black  was  to  dine  with  him, 
to  send  notes  hourly,  reminding  the  judge  of  his  engagement. 
Finally,  at  five  o'clock,  having  been  pestered  with  about  a 
dozen  notes  —  pleading,  endearing,  heart-rending  and  other 
wise  —  Black  wrote : 

DEAR  CARP: —  I  beg  you  not  to  forget  that  I  am  to  dine  with  you  to 
day,  six  o'clock.  You  are  so  eccentric  and  oblivious  that  I  feared  you 
might  not  be  at  home.  If  this  note  be  a  sufficient  jog  of  your  memory 
you  will  perhaps  call  here  at  six.  If  you  don't  think  of  it  I  will  go  to  your 
office  a  little  later.  In  any  event  please  to  remember  the  engagement. 

Yours,  J.  S.  BLACK. 

The  world  has  lost  much  from  the  imperfect  record  of 
Carpenter's  sayings.  Times  without  number  he  has  uttered 
such  as  this,  spoken  at  a  war  meeting  in  Janesville:  "Behold 
grim  treason  seated  upon  the  tombstone  of  liberty." 

When  E.  P.  Brooks  was  consul  to  Dublin  he  sent  a  bottle 
of  choice  wine  to  Carpenter,  and  in  the  same  package 
another  bottle  to  his  partner,  James  Coleman.  The  wine 
arrived  in  Coleman's  absence,  and  Carpenter  opened  the 
consignment  and  emptied  one  of  the  bottles  with  some  friends 
who  happened  to  be  present.  Coleman,  on  returning,  found 
the  bottles  standing  together  and  took  the  full  one  with  the 
remark,  "I  suppose  this  is  mine,  isn't  it,  Matt.?"  "No," 
said  Carpenter,  "  that  is  mine.  We  drank  yours ! " 

Carpenter's  daughter  Lilian  had  been  seriously  ill  at 
Waterbury,  Vermont.  When  she  began  to  recover  he 


NOTES  AND    ANECDOTES.  563 

astonished  the  sober  denizens  of  that  quiet  village  by  tele 
graphing  from  Washington:  "Thank  God!  You  are  better. 
If  I  were  not  a  temperance  man  I  should  go  out  and  take  a 
drink!" 

In  one  of  his  great  railway  suits  he  turned  to  a  wealthy 
witness  and  said:  "  He  commits  perjury  as  gayly  as  a  trouba 
dour  e'er  thumbed  his  guitar." 

Carpenter's  humor  could  not  be  confined  to  letters,  briefs, 
speeches  and  telegrams.  Many  a  bank  cashier  has  been 
convulsed  by  his  checks.  For  instance,  a  check  for  his 
little  daughter  read :  "  Pay  to  the  order  of  the  Celestial  Pet, 
Lilian,  the  sum  of  ten  dollars." 

Judge  Black  called  on  Carpenter  one  evening  in  Washing 
ton  and  asked  his  opinion  on  an  important  matter  then  pend 
ing.  After  revolving  the  case  a  few  moments  in  his  mind, 
he  replied,  exposing  a  constitutional  difficulty  that  rather 
startled  Black,  but  about  the  soundness  of  which  he  was 
somewhat  incredulous.  Without  disputing  the  statement, 
Black  retired,  saying  he  would  sleep  on  the  matter  and  de 
cide  in  the  morning.  Carpenter  then  had  sleeping  apart 
ments  not  far  from  his  offices.  Some  hours  after  midnight 
he  was  aroused  from  slumber  by  loud  and  emphatic  raps  on 
the  door.  "Who's  there?"  shouted  Carpenter.  "It's  Old 
Black.  I  have  come  to  tell  you  that  you  are  right  about 
that  constitution."  The  door  was  then  opened  and  Judge 
Black  entered.  His  appearance  gave  ample  indication  of 
the  severe  tussle  he  had  undergone  with  the  question  during 
the  night.  His  coat  collar  was  turned  in,  his  vest  was  but 
toned  awry,  and  his  wig,  thoroughly  disheveled,  was  pulled 
far  down  over  one  ear.  Carpenter  lighted  a  cigar1  and 
Black  took  a  fresh  chew  of  tobacco.  Thus  the  two  great 
lawyers,  in  the  flickering  light  of  the  dying  grate-fire,  one 
in  the  ghostly  robes  of  the  chambre  a  couchcr,  and  the  other 
in  the  grotesque  array  of  calamitous  absent-mindedness, 

1  Carpenter  never  smoked  until  he  was  forty-three  and  began  then  in 
accordance  with  advice  from  his  physician. 


564  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

chewed  and  smoked  over  the  constitution  for  some  time,  and 
then  retired,  well  pleased  with  each  other,  to  peaceful,  con 
stitutional  sleep. 

PROPHECIES. 

Late  in  1850,  Carpenter  chanced  to  meet  in  Madison  a 
dozen  of  the  leading  democrats  of  Wisconsin.  The  various 
features  and  general  effect  of  the  fugitive  slave  act,  which 
had  been  the  law  of  the  land  but  a  few  months,  came  under 
discussion.  He  intimated  that  the  act  was  unwise,  and 
would  return  to  plague  its  inventors.  Being  reproved  for 
quivering  in  his  democracy,  he  exclaimed: 

I  say  to  you,  gentlemen,  the  very  title  of  this  law  is  damning.  Its  spirit 
is  that  of  barbarism,!  and  its  tendency  toward  brutality.  We  are  sowing 
the  wind,  and  shall  reap  the  whirlwind.  The  day  will  come  when  you  will 
all  see  as  I  do  now.  This  measure  is  pregnant  with  disaster,  and  will  prove 
to  be  the  most  unfortunate  and  destructive  enactment  ever  fathered  by  the 
party  of  Jefferson  and  Jackson. 

All  readers  of  history  know  that  the  fugitive  slave  act 
hurt  the  democracy,  and  pushed  on  and  strengthened  the 
anti-slavery  agitation  more  than  anything  that  had  ever 
happened. 

In  1860  he  predicted  that  the  election  of  Lincoln  would 

1  The  law,  among  other  things,  in  addition  to  suspending  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus,  provided : 

"  The  person  having  a  poiver  of  attorney  may  pursue  and  reclaim  the 
party  charged  to  be  a  slave,  either  by  procuring  a  warrant  from  a  judge  or 
commissioner  of  the  United  States  court,  or  by  seizing  and  arresting  him 
where  the  same  can  be  done  -without  process,  and  taking  him  before  said 
judge  or  commissioner. 

"  Any  person  who  shall  obstruct  the  arrest,  or  shall  rescue,  or  attempt  to 
rescue,  or  shall  aid  or  abet  such  alleged  slave,  directly  or  indirectly,  to 
escape,  or  shall  harbor  or  conceal  such  slave,  shall  for  either  of  said  offenses 
be  subjected  to  a  fine  not  exceeding  $1,000  and  imprisonment  not  exceed-' 
ing  six  months,  and  in  the  event  of  escape  shall  forfeit,  on  a  civil  process,  the 
sum  of  $1,000,  as  the  value  of  said  slave. 

"  In  no  trial  or  hearing  under  this  act  shall  the  testimony  of  such  alleged 
fugitive  be  admitted  in  evidence. 

"  The  officer  making  the  arrest  is  to  have  $5  and  other  reasonable  ex 
penses.  The  commissioner  before  whom  the  slave  is  brought  is  to  have  a 
fee  of  Sio,  in  the  event  of  conviction,  and  $5  should  he  not  deem  the  proof 
sufficient." 


SECRET    HONORS.  565 

precipitate  civil  war  within  a  year.  Six  months  later  Beau- 
regard  fired  upon  Fort  Sumter. 

In  August,  1 86 1,  he  pointed  out  that  slavery  must  be 
destroyed  in  some  manner,  or  the  north  could  never  triumph. 
In  September,  1862,  Lincoln  signed  the  emancipation  proc 
lamation. 

At  the  close  of  the  Rebellion  he  predicted  that  Negro 
suffrage  was  an  inevitable  and  rightful  consequence  of  cloth 
ing  the  black  race  with  freedom,  and  would  be  adopted. 
Three  years  later  the  fourteenth  amendment  was  declared 
by  congress  to  be  in  full  force  and  effect. 

In  1865,  and  again  in  1869,  he  predicted  a  great  struggle 
between  the  corporations  and  the  people.  How  fully  that 
was  verified  we  have  already  seen. 

During  the  Louisiana  troubles  he  declared  that  to  uphold  a 
fraudulent  government  by  sheer  military  power,  making  a 
fraud  as  good  as  a  majority,  would  imbroil  the  next  presi 
dential  election.  The  electoral  commission  was  the  verifica 
tion  of  that  prophecy. 

He  foreshadowed  the  failure  of  Grant's  civil  service  re 
form  commission;  declared  at  its  repeal  that  the  franking 
privilege  would  soon,  in  response  to  popular  demand,  be 
restored;  that  low  salaries  would  increase  the  number  of  fed 
eral  employes  and  impede  the  transaction  of  public  business, 
as  well  as  fill  congress  with  mere  millionaires,  and  that  But 
ler's  civil  rights  bill  of  1875,  whenever  it  should  reach  the 
courts,  would  be  pronounced  unconstitutional.  All  of  these, 
with  numerous  lesser  predictions,  have  been  fully  verified, 
except  that  congress  yet  contains  members  who  are  not 
reputed  millionaires. 

No  one  can  look  back  on  his  positions  and  predictions  and 
say  Carpenter  did  not  possess  a  powerful  and  prophetic  mind. 

SECRET  HONORS. 

We  have  not  yet  become  familiar  with  all  of  Carpenter's 
honors.  That  he  frequently,  for  various  reasons,  declined 
political  preferment,  has  already  been  amply  recorded. 


566  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 

On  the  morning  following  his  first  elevation  to  the  senate, 
John  J.  Orton,  of  Milwaukee,  a  shrewd  and  analytical  old 
lawyer,  met  Carpenter,  and  stretching  forth  his  hand  ex 
claimed:  "  Well,  Matt.,  you  are  elected.  But  let  me  give 
you  a  little  advice.  This  is  a  great  triumph;  don't  let  it 
turn  your  head.  Unbounded  opportunities  are  before  you. 
The  time  is  coming  when  this  great  northwest  will  command 
a  President.  You  are  young,  and  that,  time  will  arrive  long 
before  your  death.  Keep  your  eye  on  that  goal,  and  we  will 
all  stand  by  you  till  you  reach  it.  Let  the  presidency  be  on 
your  programme,  and  discard  all  meaner  things  in  one  great 
effort  to  have  the  merit  to  deserve  it." 

This  was  sound  reasoning.  Mr.  Orton  could  see  mixed  in 
Carpenter  elements  of  strength  and  popularity  possessed  by 
no  other  man  in  the  west.  But  his  ambition  did  not  run 
strongly  in  that  direction,  and  though  there  was  talk  at 
various  times  of  making  him  the  republican  candidate  for 
Vice-President  or  President,  he  never  put  forth  any  effort  for 
either. 

In  1869  President  Grant  desired  to  appoint  Carpenter 
attorney-general  in  his  cabinet.  A  clamor  arose  against  it 
from  those  who  wished  to  retain  him  in  the  senate,  «and 
Grant  himself,  under  date  of  September  25, 1883,  has  written: 
*  *  *  "I  had,  at  that  time,  contemplated  making  Mr. 
Carpenter  my  attorney-general;  but  finally  abstained  from 
doing  so  because  the  opinion  prevailed  —  in  which  I  con 
curred —  that  it  would  not  be  well  to  take  him  from  the 
United  States  senate." 

Undoubtedly  the  only  real  ambition  Carpenter  ever  enter 
tained  was  to  be  chief  justice  of  the  United  States  supreme 
court.  He  regarded  that  as  the  noblest  if  not  the  highest 
honor  to  be  achieved  by  an  American  citizen,  and  devoted 
forty  years  of  his  life  to  fitting  himself  to  adorn  and  com- 
pletly  fill  the  position,  if  ever  he  should  attain  it.  When, 
therefore,  after  the  death  of  Salmon  P.  Chase,  he  was  de 
barred  from  the  office  by  an  inhibition  of  the  federal  consti 
tution,  his  disappointment  was  genuine.  Again  shall  we 


SECRET    HONORS.  567 

turn  to  Grant,  who  has  written :  *  *  "I  did  not  think  par 
ticularly  of  him  [Carpenter]  in  connection  with  the  chief 
justiceship,  *  *  because  he  was  ineligible  for  the  office, 
the  salary  having  been  increased  during  his  term  in  the 
senate." 

Carpenter  framed  and  introduced  the  bill  increasing  the 
pay  of  justices  of  the  United  States  supreme  court,  and  under 
the  constitution  was  thus  unfortunately  debarred  from  occu 
pying  a  seat  on  the  bench. 


568  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

SICKNESS  AND  DEATH. 

Carpenter  had  been  in  declining  health  three  years  or 
more  before  death  overtook  him.  He  was  slowly  losing 
flesh,  his  hair  was  turning  white,  and  at  times  his  sufferings 
were  heavy.  Yet,  instead  of  relaxing  his  labors  and  taking 
a  journey  abroad,  as  advised  to  do,  he  continued  to  carry  his 
professional,  political  and  senatorial  burdens  undiminished. 
Leading  physicians  were  consulted,  and  as  they  did  not  agree 
in  their  diagnoses,  he  regarded  their  advice  as  founded  upon 
misinformation  and  of  little  value.  One  of  these,  upon  whom 
he  especially  relied,  was  wholly  mistaken,  if  not  absolutely 
neglectful,  until  the  disease  which  finally  proved  fatal  had  be 
come  so  firmly  settled  in  the  system  as  to  be  wholly  beyond 
the  reach  of  human  skill. 

While  mounting  his  carriage  to  go  to  Racine  the  night 
before  election  in  November,  1876,  Carpenter  slipped,  and, 
falling  backward,  severely  cut  and  injured  his  head.  He  was 
on  that  account  confined  to  the  house  for  some  days  and  was 
never  afterward  wholly  well.  Attacks  of  illness  becoming 
frequent,  Mrs.  Carpenter,  alarmed,  requested  a  rigid  exami 
nation  by  Dr.  Wm.  Fox,  of  Milwaukee.  The  nature  of  the 
malady  was  then  discovered  and  its  fatal  character  divulged. 
Dr.  Fox  advised  a  trip  to  Europe,  warning  his  patient  that  a 
sudden  cold  or  imprudence  in  diet  might  result  in  a  speedy 
termination  of  life. 

Not  fully  satisfied,  he  went  to  New  York  and  consulted 
Dr.  Alonzo  Clark,  who  loved  Carpenter  as  an  own  son. 
When,  therefore,  it  was  left  to  him  to  decide  whether  the 
diagnosis  of  Dr.  Fox  was  correct,  soon  discovering  that  it 
was,  he  was  sorrowful  and  hesitating.  But  his  efforts  to  dis 
semble  were  futile.  Carpenter,  trained  by  long  -experience 


SICKNESS   AND   DEATH.  569 

to  read  a  face  like  a  book,  knew  by  the  grave  demeanor  of 
his  old  friend  that  Dr.  Fox  was  confirmed. 

"  Is  my  malady  incurable  ?  "  he  demanded.  The  reply  be 
ing  evasive,  the  question  was  repeated.  At  last,  after  per 
sistent  importunity,  the  terrible  judgment  was  pronounced: 
"  It  is  incurable."  Carpenter's  head  fell  thoughtfully  upon 
his  breast  for  a  single  moment.  He  then  rallied,  and  a  list 
of  what  must  not  be  eaten  was  prepared,  together  with  a 
programme  of  lightened  labors.  Dr.  Clark  advised  against 
the  European  trip.  This  was  in  consonance  with  Carpen 
ter's  feelings;  hence  he  remained  at  home.  Subsequently,  in 
referring  to  the  visit  to  Dr.  Clark,  he  said:  "After  the  good 
old  doctor  had  finished  his  advice  that  evening,  I  went  to  the 
Hoffman  House,  had  a  fine  plate  of  oysters,  retired  to  bed 
and  slept  like  a  babe  till  morning." 

After  returning  to  Washington  his  partner  discovered  him, 
next  morning,  pacing  up  and  down  the  offices  in  a  grave  and 
thoughtful  manner.  His  head  was  thrown  forward,  both 
hands  were  clasped  in  the  lapels  of  his  overcoat,  and  his  soft 
hat  was  crushed  down  lower  than  usual  over  the  long,  sil 
vered  locks.  "  Matt.,"  said  Coleman,  "  what  is  the  matter?" 
The  pacing  was  continued  a  little  longer,  and  then,  seating 
himself,  Carpenter  answered:  "I  have  been  to  see  Dr. 
Clark.  He  says  my  ailment  is  incurable,  and  that  unless  I 
am  very  careful  I  will  live  but  ten  months  longer.  That's  a 
pretty  gloomy  prospect,  isn't  it?"  In  a  few  moments:  "Jim, 
look  at  my  insurance  papers."  Coleman,  as  requested,  ex 
amined  all  the  policies,  found  them  in  proper  shape,  and  re 
turned  them  to  the  safe.  That  was  the  first  he  knew  of  his 
partner's  disability.  However,  under  the  regimen  prescribed 
by  Dr.  Clark,  Carpenter  began  to  mend  marvelously,  gain 
ing  several  pounds  of  flesh  in  a  week.  He  resumed  the 
usual  cheerfulness  of  his  ways,  worked  as  formerly,  and, 
except  in  the  family  circle,  all  thought  of  an  early  death  was 
forgotten. 

He  conversed  almost  daily  with  his  wife  of  the  danger  he 


570  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

was  in,  seeming  especially  anxious  that  she  should  under 
stand  all  his  business  affairs  in  order  to  be  prepared  for  the 
final  catastrophe.  He  enjoined  the  family  to  suffer  no  out 
ward  change  in  their  manner  of  life.  They  made  a  heroic 
effort  to  keep  up  appearances,  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  suc 
ceeded.  His  own  efforts  in  that  direction  were  entirely  suc 
cessful,  and  it  is  doubtless  true  that  he  really  hoped,  as  he 
told  his  wife,  "  to  tide  over  the  attack  until  Paul  should  be 
come  a  man,  when  he  would  be  ready  to  go." 

In  March,  1880,  Drs.  Reyburn  and  Lincoln  warned  Car 
penter  against  the  danger  of  further  public  speaking,  going 
so  far  as  to  say  they  would  not  be  responsible  for  the  life  of 
the  patient  after  another  speech  in  the  senate.  Nevertheless, 
there  was  a  rally,  several  speeches  were  made  as  well  as 
arguments  in  court,  and  in  June  Carpenter  journeyed  to 
Chicago  to  throw  his  influence  with  the  republican  national 
convention  in  favor  of  the  nomination  of  his  old  friend  U.  S. 
Grant  for  the  presidency.  But  he  was  then  weak  and  fail 
ing,  requiring  fires  in  his  apartments  while  those  in  health 
were  suffering  from  the  extreme  heat. 

The  effort  had  such  an  unfavorable  effect  that  he  refused 
to  do  any  political  speaking  for  Garfield,  and,  upon  the  coun 
sel  of  physicians,  did  not  follow  his  usual  pleasant  custom  of 
spending  the  heated  term  at  his  Milwaukee  home,  in  the 
cool,  invigorating  breezes  of  Lake  Michigan.  He  remained 
in  Washington,  and,  by  avoiding  travel  and  excitement,  ral 
lied  decidedly  from  the  rather  alarming  symptoms  apparent 
at  Chicago  in  June.  Thus  encouraged,  he  redoubled  his 
professional  labors,  deceived  the  public  by  renewed  activity 
and  pleasant  cheerfulness,  and  entered  congress  in  Decem 
ber,  determined  to  push  through  several  important  measures 
that  would  require  an  unusual  amount  of  labor. 

The  case  was  really  remarkable.  The  analyses  of  the 
physicians  intended  to  indicate  the  progress  of  diabetes  were 
deceptive.  Sometimes  they  showed  a  perfectly  normal  con 
dition,  and  even  two  months  before  death  Dr.  Clark  said  a 


SICKNESS    AND    DEATH.  57 1 

continuation  of  the  improvement  he  observed  would  make 
Carpenter  a  comparatively  well  man.1 

On  the  I5th  of  January,  1881,  he  was  seized  with  a  severe 
cold  which  settled  into  congestion  of  the  lungs.  Then,  re 
covering  somewhat,  he  visited  some  of  the  departments,  the 
chill  and  fatigue  of  which  brought  on  a  relapse.  As  his 
condition  grew  serious,  Dr.  Fox  was  sent  for,  who  arrived 
two  days  before  death.  Carpenter  apparently  had  not  lost 
hope,  but  the  morning  before  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Fox  he  said 
to  Mrs.  Carpenter:  "Cara,  I  am  not  going  to  get  out  of 
this."  Several  times  after  that  during  the  day  he  was  heard 
in  prayer.  Once  he  said,  "  God  protect  my  babies,"  and 
again,  "Jesus  help,"-  — the  rest  was  inaudible. 

During  the  last  illness  he  watched  his  wife  closely,  and 
appeared  to  be  affected  by  her  spirits.  If  she  was  sad  Yie 
lost  all  courage,  but  when  she  was  bright  and  cheerful  he 
would  rally  perceptibly.  One  morning,  when  his  servant 
Robert  asked  how  he  was,  he  replied:  "Ask  my  wife.  She 
knows  better  than  I." 

Dr.  Fox  found  Carpenter  suffering  intense  pain,  and,  fully 
satisfied  that  the  en'd  was  at  hand,  administered  a  hypoder 
mic  injection.  The  pains  subsided,  unconsciousness  super 
vened,  and  in  that  condition  he  died. 

His  last  words,  in  response  to  the  inquiry  of  his  wife, 
"  Do  you  know  me,  Matt.  ?  "  were,  "  Why,  of  course  I  do." 

As  the  current  of  life  began  to  retreat  to  its  last  citadel, 
weeping  friends  gathered  at  the  bedside,  and  Dr.  Paret, 
joined  by  the  broken  voices  of  the  family,  recited  the  creed 

1  This  letter  proves  his  hope: 

NEW  YORK,  Dec.  8,  1880. 

DEAR  CARA:  —  I  telegraphed  you  yesterday,  which  took  the  place  of  a 
letter,  that  I  was  much  better. 

I  hope  to  get  home  Saturday  night,  but  may  not  until  the  first  of  the 
week. 

I  think  I  shall  be  better,  when  I  get  my  strength,  than  I  have  been  for 
some  time.  The  doctor  thinks  so,  too. 

Give  my  love  to  the  dear  babies,  and  believe  me,  as  ever, 

MATT. 


572  LIFE   OF   CARPENTER. 

and  prayers  for  the  dying.  Thus  surrounded,  at  9:20  o'clock 
in  the  morning  of  February  24,  1881,  just  as  a  glorious  flood 
of  sunlight  burst  over  the  domes  and  villas  of  Washington, 
as  if  to  illumine  the  flight  of  his  soul,  the  heart  of  Carpenter 
ceased  to  beat. 

No  martyr  ever  regarded  the  approach  of  death  with 
greater  tranquillity.  There  were  laudable  reasons  why  Car 
penter  desired  to  retain  a  hold  upon  life  yet  a  little  while ; 
but  the  descending  conqueror  came  without  terrors  and  was 
received  without  trepidation  or  despair.  He  desired  to  serve 
his  children  and  friends,  and  to  carry  forward  certain  meas 
ures  for  the  public  weal;  but  for  himself  he  had  no  selfish 
yearnings  to  continue  the  battle.  This  was  the  burden  of 
his  talk  before  he  fell  under  the  shadow,  and  his  last  suppli 
cation  begged  Almighty  God  to  "  bless  and  protect  his 
babies." 

In  order  to  lessen  the  strain  of  woe  upon  his  loved  ones, 
after  his  critical  condition  became  fully  known,  Carpenter 
assumed  a  mood  even  more  than  usually  bright  and  cheer 
ful.  He  did  intend  to  live,  but  if  he  should  die  he  planned  to 
have  all  sorrows  reserved  to  the  last.  His  child-like  buoy 
ancy  disarmed  suspicion  and  led  the  public  to  believe  there 
was  no  danger. 

He  uttered  no  complaints,  indulged  in  no  mocking  regrets 
over  what  might  have  been,  but  simply  met  the  decrees  of 
fate  with  the  composure  of  a  philosopher  and  the  serenity 
of  a  Christian. 

There  were  present  at  the  moment  of  death,  in  addition  to 
the  members  of  the  family,  Dr.  Fox,  Chas.  G.  Williams, 
Judge  Arthur  MacArthur,  Dr.  Paret,  and  the  servant.  In 
his  memorial  address,  Mr.  Williams  said  of  the  closing 
scene : 

It  so  chanced  that  with  others  I  spent  the  night  at  his  bedside,  and  saw 
him  breathe  his  last.  I  am  aware  that  the  scenes  of  the  death-chamber 
are  sacred,  not  to  be  drawn  upon  for  mere  dramatic  effect,  but  there  were 
incidents  connected  with  this  one  which,  I  think,  more  fully  portray  the 


SICKNESS   AND   DEATH.  573 

t 

characteristics  of  the  deceased  than  volumes  of  eulogy  could  do.  I  was 
told  that,  some  little  time  before,  he  had  wandered  slightly  in  his  mind,  and 
in  his  dreams  fancied  himself  back  among  his  Vermont  hills  again;  that  he 
spoke  tenderly,  even  plaintively,  of  his  mother,  who  died  when  he  was  a 
mere  lad,  and  then  for  minutes  together  he  would  fall  into  deep  and  fervent 
prayer.  But  on  this  last  night  his  brain  was  clear,  and  his  lion-like  nature 
never  more  strongly  asserted  itself. 

As  the  shadow  deepened  and  he  began  to  sink,  his  devoted  wife  clung  to 
him  on  the  one  side,  while  on  the  other  was  his  loving  daughter,  and  above 
them  the  pale  lace  of  his  young  son.  I  noticed  that  the  daughter  invari 
ably  addressed  him  as  "  my  boy ! "  and  when  near  the  last  she  would  say : 
"  Do  you  know  Pet,  my  boy  ?  "  His  great  eyes  would  open,  and  in  a  voice 
modulated  only  by  affection  he  would  reply:  "Why,  of  course  I  do!"  and 
when  the  wife  made  the  same  inquirv,  always  addressing  him  by  the 
familiar  and  endearing  term,  "  Matt.,"  the  response  was  the  same.  At  one 
time,  near  midnight,  when  the  attending  physician  had  persuaded  the  fam 
ily  to  retire  for  awhile,  and  himself  was  seeking  needed  rest,  I  was  left  in 
the  room  with  no  one  but  the  colored  man,  Robert,  who  told  me,  in  a  voice 
stifled  with  emotion,  that  he  had  been  the  senator's  body-servant  for  twelve 
years  and  more.  Having  occasion  to  go  to  the  parlors  below,  and  return 
ing  before  I  was  expected,  a  most  impressive  scene  met  my  view.  The 
light  was  low;  the  senator  was  sleeping.  The  thick  silver  locks  fell  back 
from  his  massive  forehead.  Near  him  on  the  carpet  was  the  pile  of  law 
books  which  he  had  ordered  from  his  office  and  studied  in  his  last  case, 
while  at  the  foot  of  the  bed  the  colored  man,  Robert,  knelt  in  silent  prayer! 
This,  Mr.  Speaker,  is  fact,  not  fancy,  and  it  tells  the  whole  story. 

Judge  MacArthur  speaks  of  both  the  decline  and  death  of 
Carpenter: 

The  death  of  a  great  man  is  nearly  always  sudden,  unexpected,  and  ap 
palling.  He  lives  so  much  in  the  public  eye,  and  is  interwoven  so  much 
with  the  public  life,  that  what  belongs  to  the  individual  is  overlooked  in 
the  common  interest  and  admiration,  and  when  his  death  occurs,  it  comes 
upon  us  like  a  tropical  sunset  —  sudden,  instantaneous,  involving  us  in 
darkness  and  despair.  This  was  in  some  measure  true  in  regard  to  the 
demise  of  Senator  Carpenter.  Those  who  were  intimate  with  him  had  for 
many  months  observed  a  marked  change  in  his  appearance;  his  magnifi 
cent  person  was  losing  its  fullness  of  habit;  the  lustre  of  his  merry  eye,  the 
cadence  of  his  ringing  laugh,  were  impaired  and  overcast  with  the  coming 
shadow.  Fits  of  indisposition  were  alternated  with  periods  of  apparently 
returning  health,  and  hope  and  friendship  recovered  confidence  and  aban 
doned  all  fears  for  his  safety. 

On  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday  I  visited  at  his  residence  and  stood  by 


574  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 


. 


his  bedside,  where  he  was  then  asleep.  I  saw  a  dreadful  change  had  hap 
pened  ;  the  end  was  written  upon  his  face,  and  then  for  the  first  time  I  gave 
up  all  hope.  Upon  calling  later  in  the  evening,  I  found  his  respiration 
painful  and  laborious,  and  it  seemed  as  if  his  life  were  struggling  to  retain 
its  dominion  in  every  breath.  A  torpor  had  seized  upon  his  consciousness, 
but  his  attention  could  be  aroused  to  particular  persons  or  objects.  Placing 
my  hand  upon  his  shoulders,  and  gently  shaking  him,  I  asked  him  if  he 
knew  me.  After  a  second  he  replied,  "  it  is  the  judge ;  "  and  after  another 
short  pause,  he  added,  "Mrs.  Carpenter  and  I  have  been  talking  of  going 
over  to  see  you;"  and  then,  as  it'  his  old  spirit  of  humor  and  merriment 
had  returned,  he  said,  "Judge,  I  want  to  make  a  motion;"  to  which  I  re 
plied  that  his  motion  was  granted  without  argument. 

An  hour  or  two  after  midnight  I  was  again  by  his  bedside.  He  was  still 
weaker  than  before,  and  the  vital  forces  were  yielding  slowly  but  surely  to 
the  impending  catastrophe.  The  last  indication  of  consciousness  occurred 
shortly  before  day-break,  when  he  slowly  turned  his  head  toward  Mrs. 
Carpenter  and  his  daughter.  It  was  his  last  effort  at  recognition,  and  he 
closed  his  eyes,  never  again  to  behold  his  loved  ones  on  earth. 

At  this  time  there  were  present  his  wife,  his  daughter  and  son.  Dr.  Fox, 
who  had  traveled  night  and  day  from  Milwaukee,  and  who  supplemented 
science  with  friendship  and  love,  was  also  present,  as  was  the  Hon.  Charles  G. 
Williams.  As  the  members  of  his  own  family  sat  by  the  death-bed  of  him 
they  loved  so  dearly,  it  seemed  to  me  the  most  beautiful,  the  most  sad  and 
touching  tableau  I  had  evei  witnessed.  At  length  daylight  broke  through 
the  crevices  of  the  curtains,  the  sun  came  forth  in  unclouded  splendor,  and 
the  atmosphere  was  balmy  as  in  the  early  days  of  spring.  It  was  full 
of  the  elixir  ot  life,  but  brought  no  relief  to  our  friend.  Leading  Mrs. 
Carpenter  to  the  window,  I  asked  her  if  she  could  remember  the  dying  ex 
pressions  of  the  great  Mirabeau,  whom  her  husband  so  much  resembled  in 
his  powers  ot  persuasion.  "  *  Open  the  windows,'  he  exclaimed.  '  Throw 
aside  the  curtains  and  let  the  sunshine  fill  the  apartment  and  bathe  me  in 
its  beams,  and  let  the  incense  of  the  garden  reach  my  senses,  for  I  would 
die  amidst  the  perfume  of  its  flowers.'  How  different,"  I  said  to  her,  "  is 
this  scene  in  one  respect,  for  the  great  Frenchman,  though  he  feared  not 
death,  believed  it  to  be  an  eternal  sleep.  But  your  gifted  husband,  although 
so  largely  absorbed  in  the  activities  of  life,  and  although  taking  such  large 
share  in  public  business,  had  a  strong  and  fruitful  religious  vein  in  his  nat 
ure,  and  believed  that  death,  instead  of  being  our  final  destiny,  was  but  the 
entrance  to  a  higher  and  truer  life." 

At  about  nine  o'clock  Dr.  Fox  called  me  suddenly  to  the  bed  side.  The 
breathing  had  almost  ceased,  the  quick  respiration  had  entirely  gone.  The 
breath  came  at  long  intervals,  and  the  attendant  clergyman  began  reading 
the  solemn  service  of  the  Episcopal  church  for  the  dying.  The  physician 
kept  his  hand  upon  the  heart  to  mark  the  ebbing  tide  of  life.  I  looked  at 


OFFICIAL    FORMALITIES.  575 

the  doctor  after  each  spasm,  and  the  reply  was,  *'  Not  jet."  At  last  came  a 
pause  —  long,  endless.  The  physician  withdre  vv  his  hand.  Carpenter  was 
dead. 

OFFICIAL  FORMALITIES. 

Some  public  men  are  admired  and  some  are  respected,  but 
few  of  them  are  really  beloved.  Carpenter  belonged  in  all 
these  categories.  He  was  admired,  respected  and  beloved. 
Therefore,  the  announcement  of  his  death  settled  like  a  cloud 
of  darkness  over  the  entire  land.  Each  individual  felt  that 
he  had  suffered  a  loss  peculiarly  and  specially  his  own.  Flags 
floated  at  half-mast  on  almost  every  public  building  in  the 
Union,  and  congress,  courts,  legislatures  and  boards  of  trade 
adjourned  as  a  token  of  sorrow  and  respect.  His  demise 
was  the  principal  topic  of  conversation  everywhere.  His 
noble  heart,  his  intrepid  soul,  his  stalwart  statesmanship,  his 
gleaming  wit,  his  enchanting  oratory  and  his  never-failing 
kindness  were  on  every  tongue,  and  all  the  journals,  great 
and  small,  set  forth  in  tender  sentence  and  generous  column 
his  many  good  parts  and  great  services  to  the  country.  "  'Tis 
worthy  of  death  to  be  thus  mourned  and  praised." 

In  congress  his  death  was  deeply  and  sincerely  mourned. 
He  was  one  of  the  most  popular  senators  who  ever  sat  in 
Washington,  and  left  not  an  enemy  in  either  house.  The  usual 
ceremonies,  therefore,  had  none  of  the  mockery  of  mere 
formality.  They  were  earnest  and  heartfelt,  the  tributes  of 
genuine  sorrow.  The  resolutions  of  adjournment,  the  crepe 
on  the  vacant  chair,  the  rosettes  of  the  officers,  the  putting 
aside  of  common  affairs  and  the  hushed  voices  were  but  ad- 
umbrants  of  the  woe  that  dwelt  in  every  heart. 

At  the  close  of  prayer  Angus  Cameron  announced  to  the 
senate  the  death  of  his  colleague  and  moved  resolutions  ex 
pressing  the  general  sorrow,  asking  the  appointment  of  a 
committee  of  five  senators  to  accompany  the  sergeant-at-arms 
with  Carpenter's  remains  to  Milwaukee,  and  suggesting  ad 
journment  for  that  day.  Senator  Pendleton  seconded  the 
resolutions,  the  Vice-President  appointed  the  committee,  con- 


LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

sisting  of  Angus  Cameron,  Roscoe  Conklmg,  John  A.  Logan, 
Geo.  H.  Pendleton  and  Francis  M.  Cockrell,  and  the  senate 
adjourned. 

As  the  representatives  of  the  commonwealth  of  Wisconsin 
were  in  legislature  assembled  when  Carpenter  was  born  into 
political  eminence  and  power,  so  were  they  also  in  session 
twelve  years  later  when  his  immortal  spirit  took  its  flight, 
leaving  a  vacancy  in  the  senate  of  the  United  States  for  them 
to  fill. 

His  death  occurred  at  a  period  when  important  legislation 
was  pending  and  the  capitol  was  crowded  with  the  leading 
men  of  the  state.  From  both  chambers,  the  rotunda  and  the 
halls  of  the  capitol  building  arose  the  loud  buzz  of  intensely 
busy  legislators,  lobbyists  and  visitors,  all  arguing,  appealing 
and  talking  for  or  against  the  measures  in  which  they  were 
interested.  The  gavels  of  the  presiding  officers  were  momen 
tarily  expected  to  sound  the  call  to  order,  which  increased 
the  eagerness  and  bustle  of  the  moment.  And  thus,  upon  a 
scene  of  extreme  activity  and  earnestness,  came  the  startling 
news  of  death. 

At  9:50  o'clock  A.  M.  the  chief  clerk  of  the  senate  received 
a  dispatch  from  Washington  announcing  that  Carpenter 
was  dead.  This  was  read  in  the  rotunda  and  from  the  desks 
of  both  houses.  Carpenter's  feeble  health  was  well  known, 
yet  no  one  was  prepared  for  the  message  of  death,  and  no 
pen  can  describe  the  change  that  swept  over  the  crowded 
halls  instantly  after  its  announcement.  A  solemn  hush  took 
the  place,  as  if  by  magic,  of  the  bustle  and  activity  of  the 
preceding  moment. 

People  had  not  recovered  from  the  first  shock  when  the 
hour  of  ten  o'clock  arrived,  and  the  legislature  was  called  to 
order.  The  gavels  fell  with  a  peculiar  sound,  and  the  chap 
lains  breathed  their  opening  prayers  with  solemnity,  dwelling 
on  the  sudden  loss  Wisconsin  and  the  nation  had  been  called 
upon  to  mourn,  and  asking  the  strength  of  Providence  to  aid 
the  stricken  wife  and  children. 


OFFICIAL   FORMALITIES.  577 

The  assembly,  upon  the  motion  of  Ashbel  K.  Shepard,  at 
once  adjourned,  and  in  the  senate  William  T.  Price,  of  Jack 
son  county,  at  the  end  of  roll-call,  rose  and  said,  with  his  pe 
culiar  earnestness: 

A  giant  has  fallen.  The  nation,  the  state,  the  people  mourn.  It  is  but 
proper  that  this  senate,  as  a  tribute  of  respect  to  the  illustrious  dead,  should 
now  adjourn  until  this  evening. 

Soon  after  both  houses  had  adjourned  Governor  Wm.  E. 
Smith  received  a  telegram  from  Vice-President  Wm.  A. 
Wheeler,  officially  announcing  that  a  vacancy  had  been  cre 
ated  in  the  United  States  senate  by  the  death  of  Carpenter, 
which  the  legislature  of  Wisconsin  must  fill. 

Senators  Edward  B.  Simpson,  of  Milwaukee;  Hamilton 
Richardson,  of  Janesville,  and  P.  H.  Smith,  of  Sheboygan 
Falls,  and  Assemblymen  Ashbel  K.  Shepard,  of  Milwaukee; 
Solon  W.  Pierce,  of  Friendship;  Franklin  S.  Lawrence,  of 
Janesville;  Franklin  L.  Gilson,  of  Ellsworth,  and  John  Ringle, 
of  Wausau,  were  appointed  a  committee  to  draft  and  present 
resolutions  of  sorrow  and  respect,  and  Senators  I.  W.  Van 
Schaick,  of  Milwaukee,  and  Geo.  B.  Burrows,  of  Madison, 
and  Assemblymen  Otto  Laverrenz,  of  Milwaukee;  D.  B. 
Barnes,  of  Delavan,  and  James  A.  Taylor,  of  Chippewa 
Falls,  a  committee  to  make  arrangements  for  the  joint  meet 
ing  of  both  houses  at  which  were  delivered  the  various 
memorial  addresses. 

Senators  E.  B.  Simpson,  of  Milwaukee;  Hamilton  Rich 
ardson,  of  Janesville;  David  M.  Kelly,  of  Green  Bay,  and 
Joseph  Rankin,  of  Manitowoc,  and  Assemblymen  Wm.  S. 
Stanley,  of  Milwaukee;  Edward  C.  McFetridge,  of  Beaver 
Dam;  Myron  H.  McCord,  of  Merrill;  John  D.  Bullock,  of 
Jefferson,  and  Edward  Keogh,  of  Milwaukee,  were  ap 
pointed  a  committee  to  proceed  to  Chicago,  and,  meeting  the 
congressional  committee,  accompany  Carpenter's  remains  to 
Milwaukee. 
37 


578  LIFE    OF   CARPENTER. 


THE  FUNERAL. 

The  funeral  in  Washington  was  one  of  the  largest  ever 
held  in  that  city,  as  well  as  peculiarly  sorrowful  and  impres 
sive.  It  was  announced  for  2:30  o'clock  Sunday  afternoon, 
February  27th,  but  long  before  that  hour  crowds  began  to 
gather  in  and  about  the  Carpenter  residence  on  Connecticut 
avenue.  Members  of  the  cabinet,  judges  of  the  United 
States  supreme  court  and  of  other  tribunals,  numerous  mil 
itary  and  diplomatic  officials,  members  of  congress  and  many 
distinguished  citizens  from  Wisconsin,  Vermont,  New  York 
and  other  states  were  present,  besides  a  throng  of  people  in 
carriages  and  on  foot  in  the  street.  The  dead  tribune  lay 
with  an  expression  of  peace  on  his  care-worn  face,  amidst  a 
profusion  of  the  flowers  he  had  loved  best. 

The  body-bearers  were  eight  uniformed  members  of  the 
capitol  police,  and  the  pall-bearers,  by  appointment  of  either 
house  of  congress,  were  Angus  Cameron,  Roscoe  Conkling, 
Geo.  H.  Pendleton,  John  A.  Logan,  F.  M.  Cockrell,  Charles 
G.  Williams,  Geo.  C.  Hazelton,  Horace  F.  Page,  J.  Randolph 
Tucker  and  E.  G.  Lapham. 

The  ceremonies  at  the  house  consisted  of  the  impressive 
burial  service  of  the  Episcopal  church,  read  by  Dr.  Paret, 
rector  of  Epiphany  church.  Then,  just  as  the  soft  gray 
clouds  burst  into  a  gentle  shower,  as  if  to  mingle  the  tears 
of  earth  and  heaven  in  one  great  expression  of  sorrow,  the 
procession  moved  toward  Oak  Hill  cemetery,  while  the  bells 
of  St.  John's  church  rang  out  their  sad,  sweet  vespers,  a 
dirge  for  the  mighty  dead.  At  the  cemetery,  where  other 
prayers  were  read,  the  coffin  was  strewn  with  fragrant 
flowers  by  the  dead  senator's  only  daughter,  and  the  casket's 
silent  treasure  was  consigned  to  the  vault  to  await  final 
burial  in  Wisconsin. 

Six  weeks  later,  the  senate  adjourning  specially  for  that 
purpose,  the  serge ant-at-arms,  the  congressional  pall-bearers 


THE    FUNERAL.  579 

and  the  family  and  friends  left  Washington  on  a  special  train 
for  Milwaukee,  with  the  dead,  on  Friday,  April  8th.  At 
Chicago  Governor  William  E.  Smith,  of  Wisconsin,  the 
legislative  committee  and  about  one  hundred  members  of 
committees  from  the  chamber  of  commerce,  Milwaukee  bar, 
common  council  and  other  organizations,  met  the  funeral 
train  and  accompanied  it  to  Milwaukee.  At  the  depot  in 
that  city  a  large  procession  of  military  and  civic  societies 
joined  the  funeral  party  and  led  the  way  to  the  court-house, 
where  the  casket  was  formally  consigned  to  the  care  of  the 
local  committees  by  Roscoe  Conkling,  who  said: 

GOVERNOR  :  — We  are  deputed  by  the  senate  of  the  United  States  to  bring 
back  the  ashes  of  Wisconsin's  illustrious  son,  and  reverently  and  tenderly 
return  them  to  the  great  commonwealth  he  served  so  faithfully  and  loved 
so  well.  To  Wisconsin  the  pale  and  sacred  clay  belongs,  but  the  memory 
and  the  fame  of  Matthew  Hale  Carpenter  are  the  nation's  treasures,  and 
long  will  the  sisterhood  of  states  mourn  the  bereavement  which  bows  all 
hearts  to-day. 

The  Sheridan  Guards  acted  as  a  guard  of  honor  while  the 
body  lay  in  state  in  the  rotunda  of  the  court-house,  which 
was  heavily  draped  in  mourning.  Early  Sunday  morning 
its  doors  were  thrown  open,  and  before  two  o'clock  nearly 
fifty  thousand  persons,  all  familiar  with  the  heart  and  counte 
nance  of  the  dead,  had  passed  under  the  portals  of  festooned 
sackcloth  to  view  for  the  last  time  the  leader  they  loved  so 
well.  The  procession,  containing  the  entire  legislature,  state 
officers  and  members  of  the  supreme  court  of  Wisconsin, 
several  military  companies  and  a  large  number  of  civic 
societies,  was  formed  under  General  E.  W.  Hincks  and 
marched  to  Forest  Home  cemetery,  where,  Rev.  Dr.  Ashley 
officiating,  the  Uniformed  Patriarchs  cast  sprigs  of  evergreen 
into  the  grave  and  the  bands  played  their  most  solemn 
dirges. 

Thus,  on  Sunday,  April  10,  1881,  with  the  winds  sigh 
ing  through  leafless  branches,  surrounded  by  tearful  eyes, 
aching  hearts  and  a  dominion  of  snow,  Wisconsin's  illustrious 


580  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

tribune  was  laid  at  rest  —  given  into  the  embrace  of  that 
sweet   "peace  that  passeth  all  understanding." 

A  chaste  and  beautiful  monument  of  Barre  granite,  hewed 
from  the  mountains  of  his  native  state,  and  erected  by  the 
family,  marks  his  last  resting-place. 

TRIBUTES. 

The  nation's  tributes  to  Carpenter  were  generous  and 
sincere.  As  he  died  at  the  close  of  the  session,  congress  was 
unable  to  eulogize  him  until  the  following  winter;  but  delay 
only  made  the  offerings  more  elaborate.  Wednesday,  Janu 
ary  25,  1882,  was  set  apart  in  both  houses  for  addresses 
commemorative  of  his  life  and  services.  The  speakers  in 
the  senate  were  Angus  Cameron,  Augustus  H.  Garland, 
John  A.  Logan,  Wm.  Pitt  Kellogg,  Thomas  F.  Bayard  and 
David  Davis.  In  the  house  of  representatives  the  addresses 
were  by  Charles  G.  Williams,  John  A.  Kasson,  Lucien  B. 
Caswell,  Mark  H.  Dunnell,  H.  L.  Humphrey,  Geo.  M. 
Robeson,  Geo.  C.  Hazelton,  Godlove  S.  Orth,  James 
M.  Tyler,  Benjamin  Butterworth  and  Peter  V.  Deuster. 
Those  of  Cameron,  Williams  and  Deuster  were  elaborate. 
Twelve  thousand  copies  of  the  address,  with  the  proceedings 
of  the  bar  of  the  United  States  supreme  court,  and  an  en 
graving  of  the  dead  senator's  face,  were,  as  usual,  by  order 
of  congress,  printed  for  general  distribution. 

The  two  houses  of  the  Wisconsin  legislature  met  jointly 
on  the  evening  of  March  30,  1881,  "to  take  suitable  part  in 
services  commemorative  of  the  life  of  Matthew  Hale  Car 
penter,"  Thomas  B.  Scott,  president  pro  tcmpore  of  the 
senate,  presiding.  The  assembly  chamber  was  crowded 
with  legislators,  state  officers,  judges,  and  leading  citizens 
from  all  sections  of  the  commonwealth.  The  speakers  were 
Hamilton  Richardson,  Alfred  K.  Delaney,  Edward  C.  Mc- 
Fetridge,  Solon  W.  Pierce,  Myron  H.  McCord,  Ashbel  K. 
Shepard,  Geo.  B.  Burrows  and  Merton  Herrick. 

The  chamber  was  draped  in  mourning;  above  the  speak- 


TRIBUTES.  581 

er's  desk  a  large  portrait  of  the  dead  statesman,  entwined 
with  a  tattered  battle-flag  from  the  state  armory,  looked 
down  upon  the  multitude  of  mourners,  and  under  the  right 
gallery,  wreathed  with  crcpc,  hung  the  pictures  of  the  "  old 
guard "  —  the  "  solid  twenty-five "  l  who  secured  his  last 
election  to  the  senate. 

On  Monday,  March  7,  1881,  the  bar  of  the  United  States 
supreme  court  met  to  pay  respect  to  Carpenter's  memory, 
Allen  G.  Thurman  presiding.  David  Davis,  Arthur  MacAr- 
thur,  Roscoe  Conkling,  Jeremiah  S.  Black,  R.  T.  Merrick, 
Philip  Phillips,  Charles  Devens,  W.  D.  Davidge  and  Jere 
miah  M.  Wilson  were  appointed  a  committee  to  draft 
resolutions,  which  were  presented  to  the  court  by  Attorney- 
General  Wayne  McVeagh,  with  appropriate  remarks.  Eulo 
gies  were  pronounced  by  Arthur  Mac  Arthur,  J.  S.  Black, 
A.  H.  Garland,  J.  M.  Wilson  and  James  H.  Embry. 

General  Wm.  T.  Sherman  detailed  a  detachment  of  sol 
diers  as  a  guard  of  honor  while  Carpenter's  body  lay  in  the 
family  residence  at  Washington  awaiting  the  funeral  cere 
mony.2  Such  a  mark  of  respect  was  never  before  granted 
to  a  person  not  of  the  army. 

The  Wisconsin  Republican  Association  at  Washington, 
the  Milwaukee  chamber  of  commerce,  Milwaukee  Bar  As 
sociation,  the  various  circuit  court  bars,  the  bar  of  the  Wis 
consin  supreme  court,  the  Merchants'  Association,  Grand 
Army  posts,  regimental  and  scores  of  other  associations  and 
societies  met  to  adopt  resolutions  of  respect  and  pronounce 
eulogiums  in  Carpenter's  honor.  These  panegyrics  were 
not  confined  to  Wisconsin,  but  were  the  spontaneous  offer 
ings  of  more  than  a  dozen  states.  They  were  almost  with- 

1  In  almost  every  neighborhood  in  Wisconsin  may  be  seen  a  large  group 
of  the  "  solid  twenty-five,"  with  Carpenter  in  the  midst,  and  under  them 
the  words,  "TRUE  TO  MATT." 

2  Carpenter  once  expressed  that  after  his  death,  and  before    burial,  he 
wished  to  have  his   body  watched   by    artillerymen.     General    Sherman, 
with  no  knowledge  of  his  dead  friend's  desire,  though  he  had  never  done 
such  a  thing  before,  issued  an  order  which  carried  that  wish  into  effect. 


582  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

out  number,  showed  a  high  order  of  talent  and  a  deep  vein 
of  sorrow,  and  came  from  the  hearts  of  the  foremost  men  of 
the  nation.  To  quote  them  in  extenso  here  would  be  impos 
sible. 

George  F.  Edmunds  said:  "Senator  Carpenter  was  true- 
hearted  and  brave.  His  arguments,  both  in  the  senate  and 
the  courts,  were  unsurpassed  for  learning,  logic  and  elo 
quence." 

Hannibal  Hamlin  described  him  as  "  one  of  the  ablest  men 
of  the  generation;  genial,  kind,  great." 

Allen  G.  Thurman,  with  suffused  eyes,  said:  "Carpenter 
was  a  great  lawyer,  a  far-seeing  statesman,  and  a  genial, 
whole-souled  man.  He  was  without  personal  enemies;  the 
amiability  of  his  temper  was  only  rivaled  by  the  brilliancy  of 
his  intellect." 

David  Davis  said:  "Wisconsin  can  not  replace  her  Car 
penter.  He  was  a  lawyer,  orator  and  statesman  of  the  very 
highest  mold." 

Russell  Sage  declared  Carpenter  to  be  "  the  pleasantest 
man  he  ever  met,  and  the  greatest  orator  of  modern  times." 

Roscoe  Conkling  pronounced  him  the  "  ablest  constitu 
tional  lawyer  in  the  United  States." 

U.  S.  Grant  made  a  comparison :  "  Roscoe  Conkling  is 
perhaps  the  greatest  statesman  in  America.  If  he  is,  Car 
penter  is  certainty  next  and  the  first  orator." 

Chief  Justice  E.  G.  Ryan  said  Carpenter  was  "  a  man  of 
profound  general  ability,  and  one  of  the  greatest  lawyers  in 
the  world." 

If  this  work  were  to  make  any  pretense  to  profundity,  a 
metaphysical  analysis  of  Carpenter's  qualities  would  be  en 
tered  upon  to  prove  that  the  estimates  of  his  greatness  here 
and  there  brought  forward,  instead  of  being  unjustly  large, 
are  rather  unjustly  small.  For  a  homely  argument  it  is  safe 
to  assume  that  pigmies  never  retain  an  equal  hold  upon  the 
populace  in  triumph  or  defeat. 

Some  men  are  great  only  by  association.     The   people 


TRIBUTES.  583 

take  no  note  of  them  until  the  illogical  and  inexplicable 
fortunes  of  politics  have  put  upon  them  the  magnitude  and 
consequence  of  office.  Such,  whenever  separated  from  their 
official  robes  and  the  insignia  of  artificial  elevation,  disap 
pear  among  the  multitude  like  snow-flakes  in  the  ocean, 
never  after  to  be  mourned  or  mentioned. 

Carpenter  was  not  of  that  class.  His  sudden  transition 
from  citizenship  to  senatorship  was  not  violent  or  incon 
gruous.  It  added  honor  to  the  state  he  represented  and  the 
distinguished  body  in  which  he  sat,  but  added  nothing  to 
himself.  As  a  law-giver,  patriot  and  tribune  he  had  already 
won  his  way  to  the  highest  position  in  the  public  estimation, 
and  any  election  of  that  sort  was  regarded  as  merely  a  willing 
tribute  to  his  greatness  rather  than  any  particular  adorn 
ment  of  or  addition  to  it  which  would  disappear  or  be  trans 
ferred  to  another  at  the  end  of  his  term. 

Subsequent  events,  though  they  were  bitter  draughts, 
firmly  establish  the  correctness  of  this  measurement  of  Car 
penter's  dimensions.  He  who  rides  on  the  high  tide  of  suc 
cess  and  triumph  is  never  wanting  for  swarms  of  courtiers 
and  admirers,  ready  on  bended  knee  to  do  him  every  honor. 
But  finally,  when  disaster  shall  overtake  him  and  cut  oft'  the 
rich  drippings  of  an  overflowing  purse  or  of  federal  patronage, 
then  will  the  crowd,  if  he  have  not  in  his  make-up  intrinsic 
merit  and  natural  greatness,  desert  him  in  a  stampede  to  his 
successor,  as  vultures,  in  search  of  other  carrion,  desert  the 
carcass  as  soon  as  the  last  morsel  has  been  stripped  from  its 
bones. 

As  the  storm  is  the  only  good  proof  of  the  mariner's  skill, 
so  misfortune  and  defeat  are  the  only  crucibles  that  can  put 
the  utmost  test  to  greatness,  popularity  and  friendship.  He 
who  can  rise  from  disaster  and  rout  with  all  his  friends  around 
him  in  undiminished  enthusiasm  and  devotion,  is  truly  great, 
and  a  powerful  leader  of  the  people.  Thus,  as  we  have  ob 
served,  Carpenter  prospered  in  misfortune  and  gathered 


584  LIFE    OF    CARPENTER. 

strength  with  defeat.    This  is  the  rich  experience  of  the  few  — 
vouchsafed  alone  to  undoubted  giants. 

So,  too,  as  reverses  and  calamities  do  prove  the  public 
affection  and  regard,  death  doth  confirm  and  canonize  them 
for  all  time.  When  Carpenter  died,  the  nation  mourned. 
The  manner  of  death  is  the  judgment  of  life. 

AN  EPITAPH. 

Shortly  after  Carpenter  died,  a  suggestion  that  a  monu 
ment  be  erected  to  his  memory  by  popular  subscription 
sprung  spontaneously  from  the  people  of  Wisconsin.  Meet 
ings  were  held,  and  a  central  association  was  formed  called 
the  Carpenter  Memorial  Association,  with  headquarters  at 
Milwaukee,  to  receive  subscriptions  for  a  public  monument, 
for  which,  just  before  his  death,  Jeremiah  S.  Black  composed 
the  following  epitaph: 

MATTHEW  HALE  CARPENTER. 

THE  MOST  ACCOMPLISHED  ORATOR  OF  HIS  DAY  AND  GENERATION,  HE 
ADDRESSED  NO  AUDIENCE  THAT  HE  DID  NOT  CHARM,  AND  TOUCHED 
NO  SUBJECT  THAT  HE  DID  NOT  ADORN.    FIRST  AMONG  SENATORS 
AND  FOREMOST  OF  STATESMEN,  HE  WAS  MIGHTY  IN  WORD 
AND  IN  DEED.     TRUE   TO  HIS  COUNTRY  AND  HIS  CON 
SCIENCE,  HIS  PUBLIC  CAREER  WAS  AS  STAINLESS  AS 
IT.  WAS  LOFTY.     HE  WAS  WORTHY  TO  STAND  AS 
HE  DID,  AT  THE  HEAD  OF  THE  LEGAL  PRO 
FESSION,  BECAUSE  HE  WAS  PROFOUND 
LY  VERSED  IN    ITS  LEARNING,  A 
THOROUGH  MASTER  OF  ITS  PRACTICAL 
RULES  AND  IRRESISTIBLY  POWERFUL  IN  FO 
RENSIC  DEBATE.    YET  HIS  FAMILY  AND  ALL  HIS 
ASSOCIATES,  INCLUDING  THE  RIVALS  HE  SURPASSED, 
ARE  APT  TO  OVERLOOK  HIS  SHINING  TALENTS  AS  THEY 
RECALL  THE  GENEROUS  KINDNESS  OF  HIS  HEART;  AND  ADMI 
RATION  OF  THE  GREAT  JURIST,  THE  ELOQUENT  ADVOCATE,  THE 
BRILLIANT  SENATOR,  THE   MATCHLESS   POLITICAL  LEADER,  IS  LOST 
TO  THEM  AND  SWALLOWED  UP  IN  PERSONAL  AFFECTION  FOR  THE  MAN. 


14  DAY  USE 

TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWID 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

00  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  v 


__ 


INTER  LIBRARY 


NON-RENEWABL) 


-  •• 


LD  2lA-60m-3,'65 
(F2336slO)476B 


General  Library     m 
University  of  California 
Berkeley 


BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


€061025733 


M554343 


